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OUR 
COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



.By, 
ALFRED WvGARNER, Ph. M. 

Professor of History and Economics in the Mississippi 
Agricultural and Mechanical College • 

CLARENCE C. HENSON, A.M. 

Superintendent, Isidore Newman Manual Training School 
New Orleans, Louisiana 



INDIANAPOLIS 

THE KOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 



t.178 
.1 

Copyright 1921 /"> ^ rx 



The Bobbs-Merrii.l Company^ 



DEC -2 1921 



0)C!.A627962 



o/Inierican Creed 

I belici'c in the United States of America as a 
goveniiiient of the people, by the people, for the 
people ; whose just pozvers arc derived from the 
consent of the governed; a democracy in a re- 
public, a sovereign nation of many sovereign 
states; a perfect union, one and inseparable; 
established upon those principles of freedom, 
equality, justice, and humanity for which Amer- 
ican patriots sacrificed their liirs and fortunes. 
I therefore believe it is my duty to my coun- 
try to love it, to support its constitution, to obey 
its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it 
against all enemies. 

— William Tyi.kr I'ac.k. 



- PREFACE 

In bringing out this volume we have tried to keep in mind 
the fact that in the grammar grades many other studies are 
pursued, and the time devoted to the study of history is 
necessarily limited. Accordingly, one of our guiding prin- 
ciples has been the kind and arrangement of facts rather, 
than their great number. Without omitting anything thai 
might impair the value of the book, we have confined our- 
selves to the minimum essentials that an up-to-date text- 
book should contain. 

From the planting of the first i:)ermanent English colony 
in the New World at Jamestown in 1607 down to the present 
year, there has been an interval of three hundred and thir- 
teen years. If we divide this nvunber by two, we find that 
the middle point or the half-way station in the history of 
the people of the United States of America is the year 1763 
which marked the close of the French and Indian War and 
consequent downfall of France in North America. In other 
words, there were as many years of the history of our 
country before 1763 as there have been since that date. 

Perhaps the average citizen of our country does not re- 
alize clearly and fully that the year 1763 is only half of the 
way back to the beginning of our history. John Fiske has 
pointed out the fact that an era removed from us shrinks 
in magnitude, just as a mountain does when we travel away 
from it. Moreover, the quantity of our history since 1763 
is greater than it was before that year ; that is to say, there 
are infinitely more significant things to write about in the 
second half of the history of our country than in the first 
half. Accordingly, the authors of this text have endeavored 
to secure and preserve the proper perspective in the division 



PREFACE 

of space. For example, of the forty-six chapters in the 
text, only ten chapters, or less than one- fourth, are devoted 
to the first half of our history, more than three-fourths of 
the text being given to the second half. 

Realizing that a mere relation of dates, names and facts 
plays only a small part in promoting citizenship, which 
should be the primary object of history, we have endeavored 
at least in this book to connect the boys and girls with the 
great currents that explain and indicate the trend of our 
country's development. To enable the children to under- 
stand our great achievements, institutions and problems of 
the present in the light of the past is to enlist their interest 
in history, to foster jxitriotism, to make more acute their 
sense of judgment and to inspire them with a higher degree 
of civic duty. Hence, in the selection, arrangement and 
discussion of facts we have kept constantly in mind their 
bearing on our life and institutions. 

Since the development of our political life is so closely 
interwoven with our economic, industrial and political insti- 
tutions, we have attempted to give sufficient study to all of 
these. Along Avith the recent progressive steps in legisla- 
tion and government we have emphasized our material 
development, the western movement, the labor problems, etc. 

It would be well-nigh impossible to make adequate 
acknowledgments of our indebtedness to the many persons 
who have done so much to make this book possible. We 
wish, however, to take this opportunity to thank Doctor 
James W. Garner, of the University of Illinois, and Pro- 
fessor E. S. Towles, of the Mississippi A. and M. College, 
for reading the proof and preparing some questions for 

parts of the book. t, . 

^ The Authors. 



CONTENTS 

PART ONE 

Europeans Discover, Explore, and Colonize 
the New World 

CHAPTKR PAGE 

1 EuROPEAX Beginnings 1 

II DlSCOV-ERY AND EaRLY EXPLORATIONS .... 13 

III The Struggle between England and Spain . . 23 

IV England Pl.vnts Her First Permanent Colony 

IN the New World il 

y Religious Persecution and Coloniz.\tion . . 46 
VI Rivals to the English in America .... 58 

PART TWO 

England Wins in the Struggle for Supremacy 
in North America 

VII Political Upheav.\ls in Engl.vnd and Their 

Effect 68 

VIII French Domination of the Mississippi Basin . 83 
IX Engl.\nd's European Wars and Her Americ.\n 

Colonies 92 

X The Downfall of France in America . . . 100 

PART THREE 

The English Colonies Revolt from Their Mother 
Country and Establish a New Nation 



XI Social Life in the Colonies 

XII Economic Phases of Colonial Life 

XIII What Caused the Colonies to Revolt . . 

XIV The Colonists Decl.\re Their Independence 
XV The Revolution.-vry War 

XVI The Confederation and Its Breakdown . 

XVII How the Constitution Was Framed . . 



112 

128 
146 
164 
183 
204 
213 



CONTENTS— Continued 



PART FOUR 

The Federal Union Grows and Develops but Is 
Hampered by European Interference 

CHAPTER 

XVIII The Federalists in Control .... 

XIX The Democratic-Republicans in Power . 

XX War with Great Britain 

XXI Good Feelings and Hard Times .... 

XXTI Social and Industrial Progress up to 1820 

PART FIVE 

The Nation Expands Westward and Slavery 
Splits It in Twain 

XXIII Jacksonian Democr.vcv .... 

XXIV The Whigs and Texas Annexation 
XXV Westward Expansion 

XXVI The End of the Whig Party 
XXVII A Quarter of a Century of Progress 
XXVIII The Democrats Once More in Power 



page 
222 
2V1 
256 
272 
286 



303 
320 
329 
338 
348 
367 



PART SIX 

The War between the States Results in the Supremacy 
of the Union and the Problems of Recon- 
struction Are Solved 

XXIX The Parting of the Ways 381 

XXX The First Two Years of the W.\r 395 

XXXI How THE War Was Finally Won 412 

XXXII What the War Cost 440 

XXXIII Reconstruction Days 448 

XXXTV The Rise of the New South 462 



PART SEVEN 

The Fight against Corruption Results in the Develop- 
ment of a New American Spirit 

XXXV The Conquest of the Far West 475 

XXXVI The Beginning of Reform Legislation . . . . 494 

XXXVII A Republican Victory and a High Tariff . . 503 

XXXVIII The Democrats Regain Public Office . 511 

XXXIX The United States Becomes a World Power . 522 

XT. A New American Spirit 541 



CONTENTS— Continued 



5.-; PART EIGHT 

The United States Enters the World War and Helps 
to Make the World Safe for Democracy 



CHAPTER 
XLl 
XLII 

XLIII 

XLIV 

XLV 

XLVI 



A Half-Century of Progress . 
The Struggle for European Supremacy' 
A School-Teacher in the White House 
Europe in Conflagration .... 

The War for Democracy 

From War to Peace 



page 
558 
575 
599 
616 
630 
654 



APPENDIX 

The Constitution of the United States iii 

Amendments to the Constitution xvi 

The Presidents and Vice-Presidents xxiii 

The States of the Union xxiv 

Index . xxvii 



COLORED MAPS 

PAGE 

European Possessions in Eastern North America at the Out- 
break of the French and Indian War 98 

British Possessions in North America on the Eve of the Revo- 
lutionary War 162 

The United States after the Signing of the Treaty of Paris, 

September 3, 1783 202 

The United States after the Purchase of Louisiana, 1803 . . 246 

The United States in 1821 284 

Land Acquisitions of the United States, 1783-1853 .... 336 

Slave and Free States after the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, 1854 . 368 

The United States and the Confederate States in 1861 . . . 392 

BLACK AND WHITE MAPS 

Medieval Trade Routes to the Far East 7 

Trans-Atlantic Routes of Columbus, Cabot and Magellan . . 17 

New England Towns in 1650 51 

Route Used by French to Reach the Mississippi Basin ... 60 

Charleston about 1700 72 

Mason and Dixon's Line 80 

Acadia and Cape Breton Island 94 

French Posts between Lake Ontario and the "Forks of the 

Ohio" 102 

Revolutionary War 

Boston and Vicinity 172 

New York and Vicinity 183 

Eastern Pennsylvania and Northern New Jersey .... 184 

Lake Champlain and the Upper Hudson Valley .... 188 

The Southern War Area 194 

Federal Lands North of the Ohio 206 

Original Federal District 225 

War with Great Britain 

New Orleans and Vicinity 265 

Map Showing Vote on the Tariff Act of 1816 269 

Acquisition of West Florida 275 

Russian Posts in What Is Now Alaska 278 

The Cumberland Road and Its Extensions 289 

Map Showing When Manhood Suffrage Was Granted . . 298 

Map Showing Vote on the Tariff Act of 1832 309 

Trails to the Far West 328 



BLACK AND WHITE MAPS— Continued 

War with Mexico p^qe 

The Mexican War Area 334 

Texas Boundary Dispute 343 

War between the States 

War Area in Northern Virginia 396 

Southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas 400 

Where the Western Campaigns Were Fought 401 

Tlie Penns3'lvania and Maryland Theater of War .... 407 

Battlefield of Gettysburg 416 

Vicinity of Chattanooga 423 

Richmond and Vicinity 427 

Sherman's Route through Georgia and the CaroHnas . . 430 

Military Districts Created by Congress for the Government of 

the South 452 

The "Fall Line" 468 

Samoan Islands 509 

Venezuelan Boundary Dispute 520 

Cuba and Its Relation to Florida 525 

Philippine Islands 530 

Hawaiian Islands 537 

Panama Canal 545 

Movement of Center of Population by Decades from 1790 to 

1920 " 560 

Distribution of Races in the Dual Monarchy and the Danubian 

States 580 

How the Unification of Italy Was Effected 582 

How Prussia Gradually Became Supreme in Germany . . . 585 
The Pan-German Scheme for Controlling from the North Sea 

to the Persian Gulf 593 

The Barrier in the Balkans to the Pan-German Scheme . . 596 
Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Porto Rico and the Virgin 

Islands 606 

World War 

The Cradle of the World War 607 

Where the Armies Fought in the West 617 

The Eastern Theater of War 621 

Scene of the Asiatic Campaign 625 

WHiere the Americans Fought 642 



Our Country's History 

CHAPTER I 
EUROPEAN BEGINNINGS 



Introduction. — The history of a country is a written 
record of the Hfe of its people. A people which has 
no such record is classed as uncivilized, although it fre- 
quently happens that important events in its life are handed 
down from father to son by word of mouth, or are preserved 
for future generations through rude pictorial drawings or 
carvings. What is now the United States of America was 
the home of many thousands of red men or of earlier peo- 
ples who may have completely perished even before the 
red men came. Since, however, none of these previous 
inhabitants have left any permanent record, the history 
of our country may be begun with the story o.f the white 
explorers, and inasmuch as they came from Europe, it is 
there we must go to learn its beginning. 

Geographical knowledge five hundred years ago.— Al- 
though the peoples living in Europe, Asia, the Valley of the 
Nile and the northern coast of Africa five hundred years ago 
were highly civilized in some ways, they had little knowl- 
edge of one another. Such adventurers as Sir John Mande- 
ville and Marco Polo had published exaggerated accounts of 
their travels in the Far East (India and China) : but the 
main sources of information were the sailors who visited the 
ports of the eastern Mediterranean and Black Seas and there 
met Arab traders from distant lands. 

1 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




From an old print 
One of the Fabulous Fifteenth-Century 
Sea Monsters Attacking a X'^cssel 



The niap makers of the time did not know the true form 
or size of the earth. They represented it as flat and some- 
what oval in shape and used pictures largely instead of 
names to designate places. East was placed at the top and 

was represented by 
the Garden of 
Eden, while Jeru- 
salem at the center 
was shown by Solo- 
mon's Temple. The 
Sea of Darkness. 
as the Atlantic 
Ocean was called, 
was believed to 
round out the rim 
of the world, and 
mariners kept close 
to shore for fear of being carried over the edge by mountain- 
high waves. This unknown sea was a terror-haunted place 
for the navigator. Mysterious winds and currents were 
there to seize his vessel and great whirlpools waited to 
draw him down. Huge sea serpents lifted their heads from 
the waves and dreadful monsters lurked in the depths. 

The spirit of the Middle Ages. — The thousand years of 
warring, suffering and ignorance which ended with the fif- 
teenth century are commonly known as the "Middle Ages." 
This terrible period from which emerged the various mod- 
ern nations of Europe, to which our country owes so much, 
was ushered in by streams of barbarians sweeping over cen- 
tral and western Europe from the interior of Asia and de- 
stroying everything in their paths. The Roman Empire had 
been gathering the remains of the civilization of the Medi- 
terranean countries and here the last stand was made against 
barbarism. Enfeebled by long wars and luxurious liv- 
ing, the Roman power could not long withstand such in- 



EUROPEAN BFX; INNINGS 




A Monastery Built in the 
Middle Ages 



vaders, and in 476 A. D. the Roman Empire came to an end. 
Thousands were murdered, cities were destroyed, schools 
ceased to exist, Hbraries disappeared and much of Europe 
was reduced to a half-civihzed condition. The Church alone 
seemed to escape de- 
struction. 

During the Mid- 
dle Ages throughout 
western and south- 
ern Europe there 
was only one church 
— the Roman Cath- 
olic. It was ruled 
over by the Pope, 
who came to have 
absolute authority 
and could pronounce 
sentence of death 

against any one guilty of disbelief or disobedience. All 
over Europe the Church had institutions called monasteries, 
huge stone buildings, usually in secluded and inaccessible 
spots, where many religious men lived together. The mon- 
asteries served throughout the Middle Ages to keep alive 
civilization by preserving the education, the literature and 
the arts and sciences inherited from the Greeks and Ro- 
mans, and the religion of Jesus Christ. 

As the centuries rolled by the invaders, little by little, 
acquired more civilized ways of living, partly through mar- 
riage with their European neighbors and the influence of 
their surroundings, but more especially through the efforts 
of the monks, who went forth from the monasteries and, by 
their own labor and self-denial, taught them industry as well 
as religion. 

The common people of the Middle Ages. — The state of 
society in the Middle Ages has been described thus : "All 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



Moodtana \ r* V V 

!9o 



men were divided into three groups : the nobles who did the 
fighting, the clergy who did the praying and the common 
people who did the work." The common people were mostl} 
farmers or herdsmen, and their life was hard, since they 

were serfs and 
could not move 
away from the par- 
ticular land which 
they worked. They 
lived in miserable 
huts, and were 
scantily fed and 
coarsely clad. 

The land be- 
longed to the 
Church, or to the 
nobles, the latter 
usually holding it 
as a reward for 
military service. 
These nobles, the 
barons and knights of the king, dwelt in castles and manor 
houses surrounded by the lands which they parceled out to 
their vassals for tillage. Each serf was allotted one field 
for cultivation for his own living. On this he was allowed 
to labor a certain number of days of the week. The rest 
of the time he must work on his lord's land. This was 
usually divided into three parts : one-third to be sown with 
wheat or rye ; one-third with oats, barley or peas, and the re- 
maining third to lie fallow. Thus by rotation each field 
rested every third year. 

A rural village in the Middle Ages included a church, a 
blacksmith shop, and sometimes a gristmill and a tannery, 
surrounded by the houses of the serfs. There were no shops 
or stores. Each family lived on the produce of its allotted 




Diagram of an English Manor during 
the Middle Ages 



EUROPKAN B1-:G1NN1NGS S 

field and made its own clothing and boots from home-grown 
flax, wool and hides. 

The Crusaders. — During the Middle Ages a pilgrimage 
to Palestine or the Holy Land was deemed an eminently 
pious act. Bands of pilgrims were constantly treading the 
highways of Europe, many traveling mostly on foot to Con- 
stantinople and thence across Asia Minor to Palestine: 
others to the seaport towns, there to take ship for the voy- 
age to the Syrian coast. In the eleventh century these pil- 
grim bands met with the hostility of the Turks, barbarian 
invaders from central Asia who had overrun all of Asia 
Minor and were even threatening Constantinople. When 
news of the outrages committed upon Christians by these 
Turks reached the Pope he summoned the sovereigns and 
nobility of Christendom to enlist under the "banner of 
Christ himself" for the recovery of the Holy Sepulcher 
from the hands of the infidel. The response was immediate 
and one armed expedition after another set out for Pales- 
tine. Led by kings and princes, these pageants w^ent forth 
to perish miserably in great numbers amid mountain snows 
and burning desert sands. Jerusalem was captured by the 
Crusaders and held for a brief period, only to be retaken by 
the Turks. Jealousy among their leaders rendered further 
attempts futile for the Christians and they finally abandoned 
the undertaking. 

Influence of the Crusaders. — The Crusaders had failed 
in their purpose, yet the quickening of the mind by travel 
and adventure hastened the coming of the revival of learn- 
ing in Europe. The Crusaders viewed with amazement the 
grace and beauty of architecture in Constantinople and lis- 
tened with delight to the wisdom of Greek and Arab schol- 
ars. Those who survived brought back the seeds of strange 
]>lants, such as rice, hemp, sugar cane, oranges, apricots and 
lemons, all of which they found would flourish in the soil of 
southern Europe. Demand for Eastern products became 



OUR COUNTRY'S UiSTORV 




A Caraxaii Laileii wilIi iiuutls frc 
the East Crossing- the Desert 



wide-spread, and a prof- 
itable trade sprang up 
between Europe and 
western Asia. The Medi- 
terranean was thronged 
with merchantmen bound 
for the ports of the 
Black Sea, Syria and 
Egypt, to meet caravans 
laden with gold, silver, 
precious stones, silks, 
cashmeres, muslins, 
spices and other prod- 
ucts of the East. 
Trade routes of the fifteenth century. — X'enice was the 
leading maritime city, with Genoa a close rival. Her wealth 
equipped a thousand vessels for three great trading expedi- 
tions each year. One went to the Black Sea, another to 
Egypt and the third coasted along the western Mediterra- 
nean shores, touching at i)orts in Sicily, Africa and Spain, 
and then passing out into the Atlantic, sailed north as far 
as the Low Countries (Holland and Belgium) and eventu- 
ally reached England. 

Three great trade routes wound their way from the 
Ear East to the eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea ports. 
One led from Calicut (now Calcutta) in India across the 
-Vrabian Sea to the Egyptian shore of the Red Sea. Here 
the goods were loaded on camels for transportation to the 
Nile, whose sluggish waters were to bear them to Cairo 
and Alexandria. A second ran from Calicut to the Persian 
Ciulf and thence traversing the Tigris and Euphrates Val- 
leys as far as the mountains, it turned westward and finally 
reached the Mediterranean ports on the Syrian coast. The 
third, emerging from southern China, crossed the Asian 
deserts to the Caspian Sea, where it branched into two 



EUROPEAN Hl-GINNINGS 7 

routes, one leading to ports on the north shore of the Black 
Sea and the other to Trebizond on the Asia Minor side. 

These routes were thronged with caravans led by mer- 
chants clad in rich attire and attended by guards and serv- 




Medieval Trade Routes to tlir Far East 

ants. From many sources the traders Ijrought information 
to the great cosmopolitan marts where the East and West 
mingled; and thus were tlie means of a wide dissemination 
of knowledge and ideas. 

Growth of manufactures. — The sight of the wondrous 
fabrics wrought by Oriental skill aroused whatever genius 
there was in Europe to imitation. In England, the Low 
Countries, Germany and Italy, rude looms were set up b\ 
hundreds for the weaving of linens and woolens, silks and 
velvets. Artisans learned to temper steel for edged tools, and 
to mix clay and fashion it into pottery. There were no fac- 
tories or steam power. Each master workman supervised 
his own little shop of a half-dozen journeymen and appren- 
tices. In the absence of vocational schools, boys were ap- 
prenticed to masters for training until qualified to become 
journeymen. Many of the towns which sprang up in such 
nuiubers at this time are now the great manufacturing cities 



8 OL'R COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

of Europe. In England alone there were two hundred 
walled towns, London the lars^est. having twenty-five thou- 
sand inhabitants. 

The Black Death in northern Europe. — The closely 
crowded shops and dwellings of these walled towns were 
breeding-places for malignant diseases. The lower classes 
lived in dirt and filth and there was no concern for 
the public health. In the fourteenth century a pestilence 
called the "Black Death" swept over northern Europe de- 
stroying such nimibers of people that in some districts 
there were not enough left alive to bury the dead. When 
it was over the landowners found themselves surrounded by 
only a small remnant of their former vassals and these de- 
manding a betterment of conditions. Alarmed at the sight 
of the fallow fields, they grudgingly freed many of the serfs 
and granted them wages and better living conditions. 

The rise of the Turkish Empire. — The Crusaders had 
held back the Turkish conquest for two hundred years and 
it was the dawn of the fourteenth century before the tide of 
battle finally turned against the Christian forces. Gradually 
Asia Minor was brought under IMohammedan rule. The 
barbaric Turk then crossed over into Europe and overran 
the Balkan Peninsula and actually penetrated as far north 
as the plains of Hungary. The crowning calamity to Chris- 
tendom was the fall of Constantinople, which became the 
capital of the Turkish Empire in 1453. Just a short time 
before, the merchants of England, France and Spain, en- 
vious of the profits which the Italians were realizing, had 
begun to consider how they might establish direct overland 
connections with the East. Now not only w^ere their ambi- 
tions halted, but even the Italians found trading through 
the Black Sea and Asia Minor ports attended by constantly 
increasing difificulties, due to the inability of the Turks to 
keep order and to the extortion which they practised. 
Finally, prompted by their fanatical hatred of Christians, 



EUROPEAN BEGINNINGS 



the j\iohaniniedans closed their ports altogether and thus 
forced the trade between Europe and the East to employ the 
routes centering along the Syrian and Egyptian coasts. But 
even this privilege was to be short-lived, for early in the 
sixteenth century the Turks concjuered those regions, too. 

The Renaissance. — The fourteenth and fifteenth cen- 
Uu"ies saw the dawn of the Renaissance. This term, mean- 
ing "rebirth," was applied to this period because of the com- 
ing to life again of the arts and learning that had seemed 
to perish under barbarian conquest. A new spirit of prog- 
ress set western and central Europe throbbing with awaken- 
ing life, and men's minds were aroused to invention and dis- 
covery. To this period we owe the use of gunpowder in 
warfare, the mariner's compass, the grinding of glass into 
lenses, and the art of printing. 

Gunpowder, the astrolabe, the mariner's compass and 
the printing press. — Gunpowaler had been used for ages 
by the Chinese in their fireworks; but it remained for Euro- 
l^eans to adapt it to warfare. No one knows when the first 
guns were used, but soon after the fifteenth century they 
had rendered castle walls, armor, spears, and bows and ar- 
rows useless. Glass lenses made possible the astrolabe, an in- 
strument with which 
mariners could as- 
certain a ship's posi- 
tion north or south 
of the equator. The 
discovery that a steel 
needle balanced on a 
straw or cork could 
be used to tell direc- 
tion was of momen- 
tous consequence, 

for by placing it on 

1 ^ ^ Gutenberg Taking His First Proof 

a pivot and protect- from Movable Type 




10 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



ing it with a glass-covered box one had a compass by the 
aid of which sailors could sail boldly out of sight of land. 
The art of printing had long been known to the Chinese, 
but the fifteenth century saw the first printing press in 
Europe. This was in Holland, where impressions were 
taken from engraved wooden blocks covered with ink. 
Later this method gave way to the use of movable metallic 
types, made first by Gutenberg, a German. 

Prior to this time there were few books outside of tlu- 
monasteries, where the monks laboriously copied manu- 
scripts by hand. Even the Bible Avas kept chained in the 
churches, so precious was it. \'ery few of the nobility and 
none of the laboring class could read. The invention of 
printing, with the consequent dissemination of knowledge, 
was the most powerful force in forwarding the Renais- 
sance. 

Early voyaging on the Atlantic. — Until the tenth cen 
tury no navigator had ventured far from shore on the 
Atlantic ; but scarcity of animal food impelled Norwegian 

fishermen to seek 
deep-sea fishing 
grounds. A few of 
the more daring 
ventured as far as 
Iceland and Green- 
land and planted col- 
onies there, probably 
for the curing and 
drying of fish so that 
it would stand the 
long voyage home. 
About 1000 A. D. an Icelander, Leif Ericson, sailed farther 
westward and is believed to have discovered the coast of 
Labrador. In the old Norse sagas (poems) Icelandic school 
children still read of this adventure of Leif the Luckv. 




Ruins of Norse Church in Iceland 
Built in Eleventh Century 



klkcjim;a.\" beginnings ii 

Mention is made of "self-sown wheat" and "vines laden 
with grapes." The natives are described as "ugly-looking 
skraglings" navigating "skin canoes." 

Voyages and discoveries of the Portuguese. — Ever since 
the harsh rule of the Turks had made difficult the securing 
of the products of the Far East, traders and merchants and 
men unhampered by tradition had cherished the idea of a 
sea route to the Indies and the rich lands beyond. As early 
as 1415 Prince Henry, the king's son. had crossed over to 
Africa with a Portuguese fleet to plunder a IMohammedan 
settlement and while there had secured accurate informa- 
tion concerning the rich caravans which came across the 
desert from lands adjacent to the Gulf of Guinea. Hereto- 
fore it had been believed that the equator could not be 
crossed because of danger of burning from the intense heat. 
The Portuguese were among the best sailors of the time 
and Prince Plenry devoted the remainder of his life and 
Iiis fortune to exploration of the African coast, in the hope 
of sectiring gold for his country and of discovering a new 
route to the East. 

Daring indeed must be the captain who would imdertake 
such a voyage. He had the prospect of managing in strange 
waters a clumsy vessel manned by an ignorant and super- 
stitious crew. Sailors were apt to become mutinous over 
the monotonous fare of hard bread and salt beef, from 
which many died of scurvy. Methods of canning and pre- 
serving a healthful variety of food were unknown. 

Diaz and Gama win honors for Portugal. — In 1445 one 
of Prince Henry's captains reached Cape \^erde, the "green 
cape" marking the beginning of the fertile coast lands 
south of the arid Sahara. Rich cargoes of gold dust and 
slaves found their way to Portugal, and. thus encouraged, 
the explorations continued. In 1487 Bartholomew Diaz 
reached the southernmost point of Africa and named it 
the "Cape of Storms." Later the king renamed it the Cape 



12 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

of Good Hope, "because," he said, "there is now much 
reason to believe that we have found the long-sought ocean 
route to the Indies." Ten years later Vasco da Gama 
rounded the Cape of Good Hope, explored the eastern coast 
of Africa, and crossed the Indian Ocean to India. This new 
sea route to the East was free from Turkish interference, 
but it was more than ten thousand miles long. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. How may we learn of people who lived before written records 

were kept? 

2. Describe Sir John Mandeville's travels in the East. 

3. Explain the meaning of "Dark Ages." How did the Church 

escape destruction during that period? 

4. What was a medieval manor ? How was it divided ? What were 

the classes of people on it? 

5. In what respects do the towns and cities in the United States 

to-day differ from the towns of the Middle Ages? 

6. What were the causes of the Crusades? Which was the -most 

important one? Do you believe the Crusades lienefited the 
world? If so, how? The Crusades brought western Europe 
and India into closer relations. How did this hasten the dis- 
covery of America? 

7. Why did a new way to India become so important to the people 

of western Europe after 145v3? Trace on the map the main 
routes to India about 1453. 

8. The first steps in civilization are the important ones. What 

early inventions and discoveries helped men to take the first 
steps in civilization ? 

9. Why were the Northmen such bold seamen ? Why was the voy- 

age of Leif Ericson to North America of such little impor- 
tance? 
10. Trace on the map the route of Vasco da Gama in his memorable 
voj^age of 1497-98. This was one of the four greatest world 
voyages. Why? Tell liow the Cape of Good Hope got its 
name. 

KKFERENCES 

1. Nida's Dawn of .hncrican History i)t Europe, Chapter XXI. 

2. Fiske's History of the United States. Chapter II. 



CHAPTER II 



DISCOVERY AND EARLY EXPLORATIONS 



Importance of the discovery of America. — On the 
morning of October 12, 1492, San Salvador, one of the 
Bahama Islands, was sighted for the first time by European 
sailors. Since the birth of Jesus no other event has so in- 
fluenced history. 
The Middle Ages 
sank out of sight 
as a new world 
came into view and 
"modern times" be- 
gan. To the faith, 
perseverance a n d 
boldness of one 
man — the Italian 
Christopher Co- 
lumbus — Europe 
owed her first 
knowledge of the 
New World far to 
the west and be- 
yond the stormy 
Atlantic. 

Columbus and 
his ideas. — Chris- 
topher Columbus was born in Genoa of humble parentage, 
and began at the age of fourteen to follow the sea. After 
many adventurous voyages on the Mediterranean, along the 
African coast, and as far north as Iceland, he settled in Lis- 
bon and devoted himself to map making. 

13 




Christopher Columbus 



14 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



Fifteen centuries before Greek philosophers had taught 
that the earth is round, but this was not generally believed 
during the ignorant Middle Ages. Columbus became pos- 
sessed with the idea, however, and thought that by sailing 
west far enough he could reach Zipango (Japan), Cathay 
(China) and the Indies. He was encouraged by the Italian 
astronomer, Toscanelli, who wrote him that Zipango was no 
more than four thousand miles west of Portugal. Had it not 
been for this error he likely would have never made his 
journey. 

Struggles of Columbus. — Columbus now decided to try 
out his idea of finding a western route to Asia. Lacking the 




ColumiuTs l)elore Isabella 

necessary money lie asked ihe king of Portugal to aid him 
in fitting out ships. This was refused because the Portu- 
guese were alread}- committed to the plan of finding a way 
around Africa. Then he laid his plan before Ferdinand and 
Isabella, king and ((ucen of Spain. Seven years were spent 
in waiting while the wise men of the court, by royal com- 
mand, debated its teasibilitw In these councils Columbus' 



DISCOVERY AND EARLY EXPLORATIONS 



\S 



idea was ridiculed. "For," said these wise men, "since the 
earth is flat, if a ship were to sail beyond the edge, how 
could it fail to tumble off? And again granting that it is 
round, would not the vessel slip down-hill upon reaching 
the curve and then how could it get back to Spain ?" Finally 
they argued that it was unrc;isonable to "suppose that men 
could live on the other side of the earth ; for they would 
have to walk with their heads downward and rain and snow 
must fall upward." 

Queen Isabella aids Columbus. — The royal treasury of 
Spain was impoverished from the long wars needed to drive 
the Moors out of the country and the case looked hopeless 
for Columbus. England had refused him aid and he had 
already started for France when the good Queen Isabella 
offered to finance the expedition from her own purse. Isa- 
l)ella had a deeply religious and also practical mind. She 
had visions of heathen in unknown lands being converted 
to the "holy church" and of Spain's controlling the rich 
trade between Europe and the East. 

The voyage. — By royal command the city of Palos fur- 
nished for the expedition three small vessels, the Santa 
Maria, the Nina 
and the Pinta. It 
was difficult, how- 
ever, to find crews 
for them. Few sail- 
ors were reckless 
enough to under- 
take such a voyage 
an.d it finally be- 
came necessary to 
complete the crews 
by emptying the 

^^ -p., . 1- roni an old priiu 

' ^' Columbus' Fleet with the Santa Maria, 

(lay, August 3, His Flagship, in the Foreground 




16 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



1492, the little fleet sailed out of the harbor of Palos. Be- 
fore reaching the Canary Islands one of the ships sprang a 
leak and some time had to be spent in making repairs. It 
was September sixth before Columbus turned his back upon 
land and steered boldly toward the unknown West. No 
sooner were the island peaks out of sight than great fear 
seized the crews and they began to clamor for return to 
Palos. By reasoning with them and then by promises, by 
deceiving them as to the distance already gone, and at last by 
threatening, Columbus induced them to sail on and on. 
Fortunately for history the winds were favorable and the 
weather fair. 

Columbus sights land. — Five weeks after leaving the 
Canaries land was sighted which proved to be a small island. 
Landing there Columbus gave it the name of San Salvador, 
which means Holy Savior, and took possession of it in the 
nariie of their most Catholic Majesties, the king and queen 

of Spain. "In order 
to win the friend- 
ship and afifection of 
the people," as he 
reported, "and be- 
cause I was con- 
vinced that their 
conversion to our 
Holy Faith would be 
better ])rocured 
through love than 
through force, I pre- 
sented some of them 
with red ca])es and 
strings of glass beads. They received everything and gave 
of whatever they had with good will, but I thought them a 
poor people." 

First European colony in the New World. — For several 




The Landint' of Columbus 



DISCOVERY AND EARLY EXPLORATIONS 



17 



weeks Columbus cruised about among the islands of the 
Bahama group and finally reached the coast of Cuba, 
which he explored for more than a thousand miles, think- 
ing it to be Asia. Christmas Day the Santa Maria was 




Trans-Atlantic Routes of Columbus, Cabot and Magellan 

Notice the "Line of Demarcation" (44°) drawn by Pope Alexander to keep 

peace between Spain and Portugal. All lands discovered west of it were to be 

Spanish; east of it, Portuguese 

wrecked on the shore of what he had called La Espaiiola 
(Hispaniola), the "little Spain." Leaving there forty men, 
the first European colony in America, Columbus set sail for 
Spain. On his return Ferdinand and Isabella received him 
with princely honors at Barcelona, where they were holding 



18 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

court. There was much excitement over the six red men 
and a few gold trinkets which he brought back and exhib- 
ited. It was beheved that Columbus had found the western 
sea route to Asia and that he had reached some outlying 
islands of the Indies. 

Later life of Columbus. — ''The Brave Admiral," as he 
was called, made three later voyages across the Atlantic. Be- 
tween 1492 and 1502 he explored the coasts of Cuba and 
Haiti, discovered Jamaica, and sighted the shore of South 
America near the mouth of the Orinoco River. On his last 
voyage he sought to find the mainland of Asia by sailing due 
west from Cuba. He finally reached the Isthmus of Panama 
and cruised along the shore of Central America searching 
in vain for a "Southwest Passage." 

Columbus a discoverer, not a colonizer. — As a colonizer 
Columbus was a failure. His first colony in Haiti was de- 
stroyed by the natives before his return the following year. 
Efforts to reestablish it failed because of the disposition 
of these roving adventurers. They preferred to plunder 
the natives and search for gold rather than to settle any- 
where. Fourteen years after his great discovery of the 

"lands beyond the sea" 
Columbus died a broken 
man, ignorant of his real 
achievement. 

The New World not a 
part of Asia. — Da Gama's 
discovery of the sea route 
around Africa had re- 
sulted in a rich trade for 
the Portuguese. Stimu- 
lated by this, Spanish sea 
captains began to explore 
the coast of both Ameri- 
Fcrnando Ma.ucllan cas. Finding that the land 




DISCOVFiRY AND EARLY EXPLORATIONS 



19 



reached farther south than Asia was known to extend, they 
concluded that this was a "New World" and that the conti- 
nents must be separated by a body of water. This they called 
the "Southwest Passage." 

Balboa and Magellan. — In 1513 Vasco Nunez de Bal- 
boa explored the Isthmus of Panama. As he neared the 
western shore a magnificent expanse of water came into 
view. This he took possession of for the king of Spain, 
and named it the "South Sea" because it lay south of 
the Isthmus. Six years later Fernando Magellan, a Portu- 
guese sea captain, persuaded the Spanish Government to 
furnish him a fleet with which to seek the "Southwest 
Passage." With five small vessels he crossed the Atlantic 
to South America, and after visiting Rio de Janeiro and 
the mouth of the Plata wintered on the coast of Pata- 
gonia. Early in the following spring Magellan discov- 
ered the strait which to-day bears his name, and after 
four weeks of tor- 
tuous sailing en- 
tered the South 
Sea. The surface 
looked so calm in 
comparison with 
the Atlantic that he 
called it the Pacific. 
Although his sup- 
plies were low 
and his crews mu- 
tinous, he steered 
boldly from land 
in a northwesterly 
direction. After a 
terrible month of 

voyaging, during ,, ,, .. , ^ 

/. , ^, Monument Marknig the Spot Where 

which the crews Magellan Was Killed 




20 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

were compelled finally to eat rats and biscuit vvorm^ 
and soaked leather from the rigging, the Ladrone Islands 
were reached. Twelve days later the fleet anchored 
among the group of islands afterward named the Philip- 
pines in honor of King Philip of Spain. Here the brave 
captain met his death in a fight with the natives. The 
loss of their leader did not utterly dishearten the crew 
of the good ship Victoria. They steered to the Spice 
Islands, took on board a rich cargo, crossed the Indian 
Ocean and returned to Europe by way of the Cape of 
Good Hope. 

Magellan's expedition is memorable in history because it 
was the first to circumnavigate the globe, thus proving that 
Columbus had the right idea about the shape of the earth 
and that he had discovered a new continent. 

Indifference of other European countries. — The dis- 
coveries of the Spanish and Portuguese navigators excited 
little interest among the other maritime powers of Europe 
at the time. Italy was composed of small independent states 
and free cities without a strong central government. These 
petty rulers were fully occupied in defending their mer- 
chantmen from the pirates that infested the Mediterranean. 
England and France had never engaged in direct trade with 
the East, but had depended upon Italian "middlemen." Both 
nations, however, had developed a hardy race of deep-sea 
fishermen and it is probable that they first turned their eyes 
toward the New World looking for new fishing grounds. 

In 1497 John Cabot, an Italian in the employ of the Eng- 
lish, sailed across the Atlantic and discovered a new land, 
probably Cape Breton Island. Of all the strange sights he 
beheld that which interested him most was the "multitudes 
of certayne bigge fyssyes like unto tunies that sometymes 
stayed the shyppes." Although Henry VII felt that ten 
pounds was sufficient reward for such a discovery, before 



DISCOVKKV AND EARLY EXPLORATIONS 21 

many years lishernicn in large numbers from European 
coasts found their way to the "banks" ofif Newfoundland. 

France took no part in New World explorations until 
1524. Aroused by the tales of wealth the Spanish were ob- 
taining from America the French king that year sent out 
(iiovanni da Verrazano. another Italirm sea captain. He 
cruised along the «.,- » 0,1. r • • ,n ,«, .• 

^^ . Nuc]^o &hf panes runtiatiuslultratx/oC alia 

coast from Georgia quartaparsp«-AmericuVefputiu(vtmfequend 

1\T Q/-^fi'n itnrl bus audictur )muentaeft/quanon vidco cuf quis 

to i\0Va ;5COna ana lureveterabAmmcoinuentorcfagadsmgemivl 

discovered New AmenV ro Ammgen quafi Amend terra /hue Americam 

, , , <a dicenda:ai&Europa&A(iaamulieribusruaror 

1 ork harbor. titarintnomina.EiusGtu&genas mores ex bis bi 

Because of these nis Amend nauiganonibus qua fequuntliqnide 

intelUgidatur. 

insignificant discov- . r , -r^ • iir ,, , 

, . Facsimile of the Passage in Muller s 

enes the sovereigns Cosmographiac Introductio. Published 

of En o" la 11 d and '" 1507, in Which the Name "America" 

^ *' , , Was First Used 
b ranee were able 

later to set up claims of possession to much of North 
.\merica. 

How America got its name. — Amerigo Vespucci, a 
Venetian, had made several voyages to the New World in 
the employ of Spain and later of Portugal. He wrote letters 
describing what is now Brazil and these fell into the hands 
of a geographer living in a small German town. This ob- 
scure man published them in a little book on geography and 
suggested that the new land described by Vespucci be called 
Amerige or Americ's Land. The name became popular and 
sf)on l)Oth continents were known as America. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. John Fiske writes of Columl)us: "After some delay there 
(Palos, Spain), he set sail on the 6th of September with his 
prows turned westward into the unknown ocean. It was the 
most daring thing that had ever been done. Other brave mar- 
iners had sailed many a league along strange coasts, and won 
deservefl renown ; but Cohonbus u-as the first to bid good-by 



22 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



io the land and steer straight into the traekless ocean in reli- 
ance upon a scientific theory. This fact is of itself enough to 
make him one of the most subHme figures in history." State 
clearly the theory for which Columbus was willing to risk his 
life. Was this theory true? 
2 What were some of the difficulties Columbus had to contend with 
before he was ready to set sail on his first great voyage? 

3. Columbus never knew the real greatness of his discoveries. 

Explain why. Did he do more than he really intended to do? 

4. What precautions did Columbus take to preserve a written rec- 

ord of his discoveries? 

5. Why was the New World named America instead of Columbia? 

Note that one of the republics in South America is named 
Colombia. 

6. Why were the natives on San Salvador called Indians ? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. Why so many great explorers and discoverers were from Italy. 

2. The important inventions and discoveries that have increased 

navigation and ocean travel since the time of Columbus. 

3. The lives of the following men : Da Gama, Magellan, Vespucci. 

REFERENCES 

1. Nida's Da'wn of American History in Europe, Chapter XXIII. 

2. McMurry's Pioneers on Land and Sea, Chapters VII and VTIl. 

3. Fiske's History of the Ignited States. Chapter IT, 




A Spanish Caravel of the Fifteenth 
Centurv 



CHAPTER III 

THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN ENGLAND 
AND SPAIN 



European attitude toward uncivilized peoples. — In the 

early years of Modern Times nations acted toward one an- 
other as seemed to their own interest. Wars for conquest 
were continually going on. Great cities were destroyed and 
their inhabitants were carried away in captivity. It is not 
surprising then that 
the theory, 

"Might makes right 
Then let him take 

who has the power 
And let him keep 

who can," 



was the dominating 
spirit of colonial ex- 
pansion beginning 
with Renaissance 
exploration and dis- 
covery. None of the 
colonizing nations of 
western Europe 
seemed to regard the 
natives of newly dis- 
covered lands as 
having any rights to 
the soil on which 
t h e v lived that 




A North American Indian 
in War Dress 



23 



24 OUR COUNTRVS HISTORY 

must be respected. Beginning with the colony established 
by Columbus on Hispaniola, Europe has, by strength and 
cunning, through centuries of time, subjugated the feebler 
peoples of island and continent, and imposed upon them an 
enlightened government and the benefits of Christian civi- 
lization. 

The Indians. — European explorers found the New 
World peopled sparsely with a race of different appearance 
from any they had previously seen. These people were cop- 
per-colored and tall and slim of stature ; they had high cheek- 
bones, small flashing eyes and straight black hair. The name 
Indians was given them by Columbus, so sure was he that 
he had reached islands ofT the coast of India. 

The Indians in what is now the United States were di- 
vided into many tribes : 

(a) The Algonquin group occupied much of North 
Anierica north of the Ohio and Potomac Rivers, and in- 
cluded the Chippewas, Delawares, Foxes, Pequots, Narra- 
gansetts, Ottawas, Miamis, Shawnees, Ojibwas and Pow- 
hatans. 

(b) The Iroquois group lived principally within what is 
now New York and Pennsylvania, surrounded by the Algon- 
(juins. The leading Iroquois tribes were the Cayugas, Mo- 
hawks, Oneidas, Onondagas and Senecas. which constituted 
the "Five Nations." The Cherokees and Tuscaroras of Ten- 
nessee and the Carolinas were closely related to the Iroquois. 

(c) The Muskogee grotip dwelt south of the Tennessee 
River and included the Choctaws,' Chickasaws, Creeks and 
.Seminoles. 

(d) Between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Moiui- 
tains roamed the Sioux, Comanches, etc. 

(e) The Apaches. Utes, Navajos and Zunis occupied the 
Southwest, and their descendants are still found in the 
pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona. 

These tribes were frequently at war with one another. 
Each recognized the nominal leadership of a chief or 
sachem, who actecl as s])okesman for the tribe. All impor- 



THE STKUGGLl-. BKTWKKX I-:.\(;LA\I) AXD SPAIN' 25 

tant questions were decided by ;i council of the oldest war- 
riors. 

How the Indians lived. — The more savage tribes had 
no fixed abode, but moved from place to place, living 
largely on fish and game. Those more nearly civilized 
dwelt in permanent villages usually surrounded by pali- 




A Choctaw Indian Village 

sades, and cultivated patches of corn, beans, pumpkins and 
sometimes tobacco. In the Southwest a whole village 
would often live in a communal building, several stories 
high and built of adobe or sun-dried clay bricks. The 
Indians of Mexico, Central America and Peru were the 
furthest advanced in their manner of living. They made 
tools and weapons of stone and copper, and their populous 
cities of stone-built houses were connected by excellent 
roads. 



26 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

In Peru the llama and alpaca were domesticated, and 
clothes were made out of cloth woven by the Indian women 
from the hair of these animals. The wild tribes of the North 
dressed themselves in deer and buffalo skins and had but one 
domestic animal, the dog. 

Disposition and character of the Indians. — The Indian 
disposition was kindly toward strangers and friends, but 
for an enemy no cruelty could be too severe. Not cow- 
ardly, but stealthy by nature, Indians have always avoided 
open warfare, preferring the secret attack or ambuscade, 
considered as treacherous by more civilized peoples. They 
had a peculiar practise of scalping those killed in battle. This 
was done by cutting or tearing a piece of skin from the top 
of the head with the scalp lock adhering. A young Indian 
brave had to prove himself a warrior by exhibiting at least 
one scalp as a token of a slain enemy. 

The different tribes spoke different dialects, all unknown 
to the Europeans. Except in Mexico and some of the re- 
gions to the south, the tribes had no written language. 

Spanish colonies in the West Indies. — After the death 
of the good Queen Isabella, Columbus lost favor at the 
Spanish court. Because he had not found gold his discov- 
eries were scorned and he was derisively called the "Admiral 
of Mosquito Land." Yet these discoveries were to yield 
Spain the wealth that made possible the proud supremacy 
she held in Europe for more than a century. Before even 
the death of their discoverer the new isles were attracting 
many adventurers in search of gold for which at this time 
Europe, with its rapidly expanding trade, had such a press- 
ing need. Early in the sixteenth century settlements had 
been made in Cuba, Haiti. Porto Rico and Jamaica. The 
cultivation of sugar cane had been begun and great planta- 
tions were being cleared. 

Cruelty in Spanish colonization. — The story of Spanish 



THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN ENGLAND AND SPAIN 27 



colonization is one of extreme cruelty and oppression. Many 
of the powerless natives were sent to Spain where they 
were sold as slaves. Others the Spaniards forced to work 
for them in their mines and on their plantations. From 
overwork and captivity these perished in such numbers as 
to cause a shortage 
of labor. To supply 
this demand ship- 
loads of negroes ob- 
tained on the west 
coast of Africa were 
brought to the settle- 
ments by Spanish 
traders and sold into 
bondage. Thus be- 
gan negro slavery in 
America. 

Conquest of Mex- 
ico and Peru. — 
Meanwhile explor- 
ers from the island 
settlements went 
over to the neigh- 
lioring mainland and 

brought back fabulous reports of populous cities and of 
temples abounding in gold and silver. Soon after, Her- 
nando Cortez, with a force of five hundred men, set out 
for the conquest of Mexico. He first established a set- 
tlement at Vera Cruz and effected an alliance with some 
near-by Indian tribes. Then pushing inland Cortez finally 
reached Mexico City, the capital of the powerful Aztecs. 
After a long siege the place was taken and practically de- 
stroyed. On its ruins the Spanish later built a new city 
which became the seat of government of their permanent 




From a filteenth century book. 

The Spanish Method of Forcing Indians 
to Attend Church 



28 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

colony of "New Spain" begun in 1521. In 1528 Cortez re- 
turned to Palos with gold worth nine hundred thousand 
dollars and twelve thousand ounces of silver. 

Fired with enthusiasm by Cortez's success, Francisco Pi- 
zarro led a similar expedition to Peru. He was a man of 
iron will and the loss of his followers in great numbers from 
disease and starvation did not deter him from his purpose. 
The native Incas were despoiled of their wealth. Temples, 
palaces and tombs were looted and their treasures of gold 
and gems sent back home. A few years later the inex- 
haustible silver mines of the x^ndes were opened up and 
became the main source of the wealth which, flowing in an 
ever-increasing stream into Spain, so profoundly influenced 
history. 

In New Spain, the Spanish Indies and their other Amer- 
ican colonies the Spanish kings issued large grants of land 
to grandees, called "concjuistadores," who undertook to 
plant settlements. Priests were sent over to convert the 
natives to the Catholic faith and Spanish America became a 
copy of Old Spain in government, religion and the customs 
of daily life. 

Explorations on the northern mainland. — Reports of 
treasure being obtained from ^Mexico and Peru excited 
visions of similar lands to the north. As early as 1513 Juan 
Ponce de Leon, governor of Porto Rico, visited the coast 
of Florida. Pamfilo de Narvaez, however, was the first ex- 
])lorer to penetrate the interior. Despite intense sufifering? 
and constant Indian attacks, his little company marched al- 
most the length of the peninsula, from south to north. On 
the shore of the Gulf of Mexico they built boats and put out 
to sea. Years afterward four of their number reached the 
Spanish settlements in New Spain. 

De Soto discovers the Mississippi River. — Hernando 
de Soto had been with Pizarro in the conquest of Peru 
and desired to win like fame and wealth for himself. 



THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN ENGLAND AND SPALN 29 

\\'ith six hundred followers he landed at Tampa Bay in 
1539 and began a toilsome march northwestward. After 
wandering for two years through what is now Georgia, 
Alabama and Mississippi, he came to the river called by the 
Indians Mississippi, nieaning "Father of Waters." 

Of this great stream one of his men wrote : "The river 
was almost half a league broad. If a man stood still on the 
other side it could not be discerned it be a man or not. The 




De Soto Discovering the Mississippi 



river was of great depth and of a strong current. It was 
always muddy and there came down continually many trees 
and timber. There was a great store of fish in it." 

Spanish explorers search in vain for gold. — After dis- 
covering the Mississippi, De Soto roamed for months 
through the present Arkansas, Louisiana, and possibly Mis- 
souri, without finding a trace of gold. Indian hostility 
was added to the hardships of the wilderness and it was 
a woeful company that sought again the banks of the Mis- 
sissippi. Here the leader died, and his followers, fearing 



30 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



the Indians might desecrate the body, encased it in a hol- 
lowed-out cypress log which they sank in the waters of the 
great river. In roughly hewn boats the survivors then 
floated down to the Gulf of Mexico and across to the coast 
settlements of New Spain. 

Adventurous minds among the colonists were ever on the 
alert for conquest and plunder. Indian tales of "Seven 




The Old Spanisli Fort near St. Augustine, Florida 

Great Cities" to the north, somewhere along the Rio Grande, 
were readily believed. These rumors were confirmed by 
survivors of De Narvaez's expedition and also by Fray 
Marcos, a monk sent out by the governor of New Spain to 
explore that region. In 1540 Francisco de Coronado with a 
strong military force marched against these fabled cities, 
only to find them mere aggregations of Indian pueblos. 
Disappointed, the expedition pushed on to the northwest as 
far as what is now Kansas, finding nothing remarkable ex- 
cept herds of "crooked-back oxen" (buffaloes). While 



THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN ENGLAND AND SPAIN 31 

these explorers brought back no gold to the royal treasury, 
they laid the foundations of the Spanish claim to the entire 
southern and southwestern parts of our country. This title 
was later strengthened by the founding in 1565 of St. Au- 
gustine in Florida, and of Santa Fe in New Mexico forty 
years later. 

Religious struggles in Europe. — The first half of the 
sixteenth century saw the spread of Protestantism through- 
out northern Europe. As a result of Martin Luther's teach- 
ings the Scandinavian countries and a large part of Germany 
broke away from the Roman Catholics and established the 
Lutheran church. John Calvin, a Frenchman who fled to 
Switzerland to escape persecution at home, taught a doc- 
trine of foreordination and strict morals. He attracted a 
large following in England, Scotland, Holland and France, 
and the sect thus formed became the Presbyterian church 
of to-day. 

People were bigoted in those days, and the Protestants 
were as intolerant as the Roman Catholics themselves. Both 
they and the Catholics were ready to fight and die for their 
beliefs. The Spanish king ruled the Netherlands at this 
time, and when his Dutch subjects became Protestants Philij) 
undertook to force them back into the Catholic church. 
Brave little Holland rebelled against the Spanish Govern- 
ment (1567) and in 1648 her independence was recognized. 

The exploits of Hawkins and Drake. — By 1558, when 
Elizabeth became queen of England, that country was re- 
garded as the champion of the Protestant cause. The hatred 
of Englishmen for Spain had "assumed the character of a 
crusade." Spanish ships, even though the two countries 
were at peace, were looked upon as fair prizes. 

John Hawkins, an English sea captain, was the first man 
openly to contest Spain's monopoly of the wealth of the 
New World. Satisfied that slavery "would insure salvation 
of the benighted heathen and redound to the profit of the 



32 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



thrifty planters," Hawkins carried several cargoes of ne- 
groes from the Guinea coast to Hispaniola. This greatl}- 
aroused the wrath of Spain, for she desired to retain all the 
American trade in the hands of Spaniards, and above every- 
thing else to keep the hated 
heretics, as Protestants were 
called, out of the colonies. 
Philip, therefore, sent a fleet in 
pursuit of this bold English- 
man and a fierce battle was 
fought in the harbor of Vera 
Cruz. 

Francis Drake was one of 
the daring sailors who accom- 
panied Hawkins on his ill-fated 
voyage. He made a piratical 
expedition to the Isthmus of 
Panama and then set out for 
the Pacific on another, where 
as yet none but Spanish vessels 
had been seen (1577). Passing 
through the Strait of Magellan, he sailed along the South 
American coast, where there were many Spanish settle- 
ments. Attacking and plundering these places as well as 
the ships met on the way, he secured an enormous amount 
of booty. Then came the difficulty of getting back to Eng- 
land. With the enraged Spaniards on the alert for his 
capture, Drake dared not venture back the way he had 
come. So he sailed north and explored the coast of Cali- 
fornia, which he named "New Albion." After searching 
in vain for the Northwest Passage, he returned home by 
way of the East Indies and Cape of Good Hope, being the 
first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. Queen Eliza- 
beth pretended to be indignant with him for his warring on 
the commerce of a nation with which England was supposed 




Sir Francis Drake 



THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN ENGLAND AND SPAIN 33 

to be at peace. But Drake knew the queen's fondness for gold 
and jewels, and a generous share of the treasure restored 
him to her favor. She dined on board Ms flagship, the 
Golden- Hind, and made him "Sir" Francis Drake. Later 
Drake and other English corsairs made frequent piratical 
raids on the Spanish, burning their settlements and plunder- 
ing their commerce. 

Defeat of the Spanish Armada. — Religious persecutions 
and piracy brought on a war between Spain and England 
which determined the destiny of America. England could 
not plant colonies in the New World wnXh Spain a constant 
enemy on the high seas, so she determined to drive the 
Spaniards from American waters. Philip II of Spain un- 
derstood this and determined to crush England once for all. 
In 1587 he assembled in the harbor of Cadiz his "Invincible 
Armada," a fleet calculated to terrify English seamen. 

Sir Francis Drake, however, was not so easily frightened. 
He darted into Cadiz harbor and set fire to some of the ves- 
sels. From others he cut the cables, leaving them to be 
wrecked on the rocks. These capers he called "singeing the 
king of Spain's beard." The next year the great Armada, 
consisting of a hundred and thirty-seven vessels, carrying 
three thousand cannon and twenty-seven thousand men, set 
forth for the conquest of England. Philip's plan was to 
sail up the English Channel as far as Holland, and thence 
to ferry over to England a large army of veteran Spanish 
soldiers. English corsairs and fishermen fought the fleet all 
the way up the channel to the harbor of Calais, where it 
anchored. The English then sent eight ships covered with 
pitch into the midst of the vessels and set them on fire, thus 
driving the enemy into the North Sea. Trying to return 
home by sailing around Scotland, the Armada encountered 
a violent storm. A large number of the vessels were driven 
on the rocks and dashed to pieces, and it was a small and 
humiliated remnant that crept back to Spain. 



34 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

\\ ithin three years eight hundred Spanish ships were 
captured and in 1596 Cadiz was taken. The defeat of the 
Invincible Armada marked the beginning of the decline of 
Spain as a great power, and from that time England, France 
and Holland were free to enter upon eras of maritime and 
colonial expansion. 




From an old print 

The English Fleet Met the Spanish Armada as It Moved Up 

the English Channel in the Form of a Solid Crescent 

Extending Almost from Shore to Shore 



First English attempts at colonization. — Sir Humphrey 
Gilbert was the first Englishman to attempt the colonization 
of America. Under the first colonial charter ever granted 
by an English, sovereign he took possession of Newfound- 
land and began looking for a suitable place to plant a colony. 
His only ship was caught in a storm and went down with all 
on board. 

Gilbert's stepbrother, Sir Walter Raleigh, then took uj) 
the work. He was an enterprising Englishman who be- 
lieved that "England should have colonies in America for 
driving away Spanish ships from the Newfoundland fish- 
eries and capturing Spanish treasure on its way from New 
Spain and Darien (Panama)." In 1584 Raleigh sent out an 



THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN ENGLAND AND SPAIN 35 



expedition to explore the American coast from Florida to 
Canada. Reports of a fair and goodly land were brought 
back and Elizabeth was so delighted that she suggested the 
whole region be called Virginia in honor of herself, the 
"Virgin Queen." 

Between 1585 and 1587 Raleigh made three attempts to 
found a colony on Roa- 
noke Island, off the coast 
of North Carolina. But 
the war with Spain was 
now on and Sir Walter 
was obliged to neglect 
his colonists. One colony 
completely disappeared, 
leaving no message ex- 
cept the word "Croatan" 
carved on a tree, the 
others returned to Eng- 
land. One of the mem- 
bers of the "Lost Col- 
ony" was Virginia Dare, 
the first child of English 
parentage to be born in 
America. Still feeling 

confident that he would live to see Virginia an English 
nation, Raleigh sold all his rights to a company of London 
merchants. 




Sir Walter Raleisli 



Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

\. What was the attitude of European nations in the sixteenth cen- 
tury toward uncivilized peoples? Is it right for a strong na- 
tion to impose its government upon a feeble nation? 

2. Name and locate the Indian tribes found by Europeans in what 
is now the United States. Write in your note-book a descrip- 
tion of the disposition and character of the .'\merican red 
man. 



.)6 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

•\ What were some of the forms of cruelty practised by the Span- 
ish in their New World colonies in the sixteenth and seven- 
teenth centuries? 

4. Whjr were the Spanish so eager to conquer the Indians in Mex- 

ico and Peru? 

5. When and by whom was the Mississippi River discovered? 

6. Why did Englishmen have such a hatred for Spain in the six- 

teenth century? Why were Spanish ships considered fair 
prizes for the English? 

7. Write in j^our note-book a description of the exploits of John 

Hawkins and Francis Drake. 

8. What was meant by the "Spanish Armada"? 

9. Sir Francis Drake was the first Englishman to sail around the 

globe. Magellan's ships and men were the first to circumnavi- 
gate the globe. What was the tragic fate of Magellan ? 

10. Why were Englishmen so anxious to find a "Northwest Pas- 

sage" ? 

11. It has been said that the destruction of the Spanish Armada in 

1588 was the opening event in the history of the United States. 
What does this mean ? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. Indian life among the Imliaiis foiiiul in wliat is now the United 

States. 

2. The lives of the following men : Cortez, Pizarro, Hernando do 

Soto, Hawkins, Drake. 
.^. The Spanish Missions in the southwestern part of the United 
States. 

REFIiREXCF.S 

1. Xida's Diiun of Avierican History in Europe, Chapter XXVI 1 1. 

2. McMurry's Pioneers on Land and Sea. Chapter IX. 
.V Hart's Colonial Children, pp. 12-16. 



CHAPTER IV 

ENGLAND PLANTS HER FIRST PERMANENT 
COLONY IN THE NEW WORLD 

The London and Plymouth Companies. — Her triumph 
over the Spanish gave EHzabeth opportunity to carry out a 
plan that had been the ambition of her long reign, to make 
England the leading commercial nation of Europe. An im- 
portant step in that direction was the granting of a charter 
to a number of her favorite noblemen, permitting them to 
organize the East India Company (1600). This was the first 
of England's many joint-stock, trading, and colonization 
companies to which Britain owes her world-wide empire of 
to-day. It was easy at that time to sell shares in any enter- 
prise that promised large returns, as there was much money 
awaiting investment. England was enjoying the prosperity 
which comes with peace. Her growing manufactures and 
East India trade were realizing enormous profits. Often as 
high as a thousand and even fifteen hundred per cent, was 
made on a single voyage. 

"Good Queen Bess" died in 1603 and James I succeeded 
her. He also favored trading companies. Those Englishmen 
who had bought out Sir Walter Raleigh's interests in Vir- 
ginia and certain associates were granted a license permitting 
them to "conduct several colonies or plantations in Amer- 
ica." These licensees were organized into two companies — 
the London Company and the Plymouth Company. The 
Plymouth Company was authorized to operate within a 
strip one hundred miles wide, somewhere between Nova 
Scotia and the mouth of the Hudson River ; the London 
Company in a like strip between Cape Fear and the Potomac 
River. The region between the two strips could be settled 

2>7 



38 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



by either company, but in order that there should be no col- 
Hsion a distance of at least one hundred miles was required 
between the rival settlements. In granting these licenses 
James denied the Spanish claims to the entire Atlantic coast, 
which were backed by a threat to destroy any settlement 
Englishmen might make in Virginia. 

The founding of Jamestown. — In 1607 three small ships 
sent out by the London Company anchored in the James 
River about fifty miles from its mouth. Here, on May 13, 






ffiS^--:; 




Jamestown as It Looked in 1622 



From an old luint 



1607, one hundred and five persons landed and built a few- 
huts with a small fort for protection. This was the founda- 
tion of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement 
in .Vmerica. Unwittingly the settlers had chosen a poor 
site. The low river bank was subject to overflow, the climate 
was oppressive, and no good drinking water was to be had. 
Character of the Jamestown colonists. — Among the 
colonists were jewelers, gold refiners, wine makers, silk 
workers and even a perfumer ; but only twelve farmers. 
Worse still, a large number of them were "gentlemen- 
speculators," who had never worked with their hands. 
These had been attracted to the enterprise by the prospect 
of sudden riches. At that time the wealth of Virginia was 
the subject of so much idle and foolish talk that in a popular 



FIRST PERMANENT COLONY 



39 



comedy one character says : "I tell thee that gold is more 
plentiful with them than copper is with us ; and for as much 
red copper as I can bring I'll have thrice its weight in gold. 
Why, man, all the dripping pans are pure gold ; and all the 
chains with which they chain up their streets are massy 
gold. And as for rubies and diamonds, they go forth on 
holidays and gather 'em by the seashore to hang on their 
children's coats and stick in the children's caps." 

Early history of the colony. — The regulations stated 
that for the first five years all were to be fed alike from a 
common store of everything produced. This gave the idlers 
an advantage and their time was spent in hunting for gold. 
At first it was easy to procure food from the Indians, as they 
were willing to barter corn for hatchets, beads and other 
articles from England. Ill treatment from the whites soon 
made them angry, however, and the)'- refused to trade. A 
wasting fever fell on the 
colonists the next sum- 
mer and by fall more 
than half of them were 
dead. The general mis- 
ery was increased by 
quarrels, as no one 
seemed to have author- 
ity to enforce order and 
compel obedience. Cap- 
tain John Smith was the 
only able man in the col- 
ony. He was a man of 
much adventure and 
given to boasting of hi? 
exploits. At first his 
domineering ways had 
caused him to be re- 
moved from the govern- 




Captain John Smith 



40 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



ing council. Now in time of distress Smith was made its 
president. He managed its affairs on the principle that each 
man, willing or unwilling, must do his share of the work, 
and enforced the edict that "he who would not work might 
not eat." Captain Smith explored the neighboring country 
and made some excellent maps of the region, which he sent 

to the London Company along 
with his reports of conditions in 
Virginia. 

Captain John Smith and 
Pocahontas. — On one of his ex- 
ploring trips he was captured by 
the Indians. According to the 
story of this told later in Eng- 
land, his captors led him before 
Chief Powhatan and sentence of 
death was pronounced. He was 
bound and laid between two 
large stones, and a painted war- 
rior stood ready to crush his 
head with a club. At this mo- 
ment an Indian girl, Pocahontas, daughter of the chief, ran 
forward and clasping Smith's head in her arms pleaded with 
her father until he agreed to spare the man's life. Poca- 
hontas afterward became the bride of one of the settlers, 
John Rolfe, who took her to England where, as "Lady Re- 
becca," she received the honors of a princess. 

In 1609 Smith was injured by an explosion of powder and 
compelled to return to London for treatment. The follow- 
ing winter is known as the "Starving Time." Famine and 
disease reduced the population of Jamestown from five hun- 
dred to sixty. 

The London Company calls for farmers and mechanics. 
— The London Company had expended large sums of money 
on this colony and was much disappointed in getting no re- 




Pocahontas as Lady Rebecca 



FIRST PERMANENT COLONY 41 

turns. Gold had been expected and materials for shipbuild- 
ing, timber, tar, pitch and turpentine. When Smith took 
control he convinced the company by his reports that this 
was not due to mismanagement. There was no gold to 
send and no laborers to fell the forests for ship timbers 
and naval stores. He urged that no more "gentlemen" be 
s'ent to the colony, but "farmers and mechanics instead." 
His advice was heeded. Broadsides were issued soliciting 
immigrants for the colony, "blacksmiths, coopers, carpen- 
ters, shipwrights, tanners, all who work any kind of metal, 
men who make bricks, architects, bakers, weavers, shoe- 
makers, sawyers and those who spin wool." 

Brighter days in Virginia. — In their despondency the 
starving settlers were about to abandon Jamestown when a 
new governor, Lord Delaware, arrived ( 1610) . He brought 
several shiploads of new colonists and plentiful supplies of 
food. With prosperity came contentment, especially when 
private ownership of land was inaugurated. The company, 
which had now secured a charter under the title of "The 
Treasurer and Company of Adventurers and Planters of the 
City of London for the First Colony of Virginia," in 1611 
began to discard the community plan and to allot each settler 
three acres to cultivate for himself. 

However, the "freemen," as the shareholders were called, 
far away in England knew little of the hardships of life in 
Virginia. With the idea that colonies exist solely for the 
benefit of the parent country, the company continued to 
command that the colonists produce ship timber, naval 
stores, wines, silk, salt and iron — articles which England 
had to import from foreign countries. 

Among the products of the New W^orld sent back to 
Europe by early explorers was tobacco. The habit of smok- 
ing soon became popular, even in England, where King 
James hated the "filthy smokie weed." W'hen the settlers 
found the soil in Virginia adapted to the raising of tobacco 



42 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

which was worth three shiUings (about seventy-hve cents) a 
pound they practically devoted themselves to its cultivation. 
As this crop exhausted the soil rapidly the planters were 
constantly in need of fresh fields. To satisfy this the prac- 
tise grew of allowing them to acquire new lands from the 
wilderness for from one to five shillings for fifty acres. 
This led to the development of large estates like that of 
William Byrd, which eventually had one hundred and eighty 
thousand acres, and to a scattering of the population so that 
for years there were no large towns in Virginia. 

The poor laws of England. — Though somewhat im- 
proved since the Middle Ages, the condition of England's 
poor was pitiable. Wages were so low that common laborers 
could lay up little for old age. Each parish or church dis- 
trict had to care for its own poor and naturally objected to 
"transient paupers" from other parishes. Therefore, the 
law forbade a skilled workman to take employment outside 
his trade, no matter how needy he might be. Stealing prop- 
erty of six shillings (a dollar and a half) value was one of 
the three hundred crimes punishable with death. Debtors 
were imprisoned until their debts were i)aid — sometimes for 
life. 

Public opinion was awakening to the economic loss in- 
volved in such practises, and rich parishioners were chafing 
under their burden of charity. 

Need for laborers in .Virginia. — Increase of tobacco 
raising was creating a constant demand for more field la- 
borers. This was met by sentencing culprits arrested for 
theft to transportation to Virginia. Debtors and "sturdy 
beggars" were also sent in large numbers to the "planta- 
tions," as Virginia and later colonies were called. ]\lany 
poor but ambitious persons came of their own accord. Lack- 
ing the money for passage, they would sell their service to 
some sea captain or moneyed person for the necessary three 
or four hundred dollars. Thus was formed a class of "in- 



FIRST PERMAX1-:XT COLONY 43 

dentured servants," so-called because bound by contract to 
work without wages for a specified number of years to 
repay the cost of transportation. 

The supply of laborers never equaled the demand and the 
business of kidnaping servants became common. In the 
dark crooked streets of seaport towns villains lurked to 
seize upon strong young men and place them, bound and 
gagged, on board vessels starting for Virginia, where they 
would be sold as servants. It is estimated that ten thousand 
"disappeared" thus in one year. 

Beginning of negro slavery in Virginia. — In August. 
1619, a Dutch slaver sailed up James River and sold the 
planters twenty "negars." At first African slavery was not 
favored, for the negroes were hard to train. But as they 
were more easily obtained than indentured servants and in 
bondage for life, they eventually superseded white labor in 
the tobacco fields. 

Government of the colony. — For several centuries Eng- 
lish sovereigns had been in the habit of asking Parliament 
to vote them a tax on wool as an aid to meeting the expenses 
of the government. Parliament finally came to insist that 
it had the sole right to levy taxes. This was denied by 
James I. He believed that kings ruled by "divine right" and 
received their power direct from God. "How then could 
Parliament possess rights w^hich their king had not granted 
them?" England was being agitated by this dispute at the 
time Jamestown was founded. 

At first the colony was governed by the officers and a 
general court of the company's shareholders. These remained 
in England and were represented in Virginia by a governor 
and a resident council. After a few years the council was 
abandoned and the governor became supreme. Dissatisfied 
with the conduct of one of their governors, the colonists 
appealed to the company, and a new one Was sent over who 
allowed them a hand in the government. In 1619 the colony 



44 



OUR COUNTRY'S IliSTORV 



was divided into eleven districts called boroughs. Two 
members from each, elected by the settlers, composed an 
assembly to which was given the name, House of Burgesses. 
On July 30, 1619, the Burgesses met in the choir of the little 

church at Jamestown 
— the first lawmaking 
bod}' convened in 
America. Its earliest 
enactments were laws 
against idleness, 
drunkenness, gam- 
bling. Sabbath break- 
ing and wearing fine 
clothes, and steps 
were taken looking to 
the establishment of a 
university. At a later 
meeting the levying 
of taxes without the 
consent of the Bur- 
gesses was forbidden. 
Virginia becomes 
a royal province. — 
Disagreements be- 
tween king and Parliament increased. Among those taking 
sides with Parliament were many shareholders and officials 
of the Virginia Company, which had already incurred the 
disfavor of the king by its growing power and apparent 
prosperity. The fact that two years before the colony had 
suffered from Indian disturbances offered a pretext for in- 
terference in the company's affairs. In 1624 its charter was 
revoked and Virginia became a royal province. Henceforth 
it was governed by a governor and council, appointed by the 
king, with the assistance of the House of Burgesses. At 
this time the population of Virginia numbered only twelve 




Ruins of the Jamestown Church Where 
the House of Bursesses Met 



FIRST PERMANENT COLONY 45 

hundred, although it was estimated that fourteen thousand 
emigrants had gone to the colony since its founding. The 
plantations extended up the James River as far as the 
present Richmond. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. What was Queen Elizabeth's greatest ambition? 

2. When and where was the first permanent Enghsh settlement 

made in the New World? What was the character of the 
first colonists who came to Virginia? Describe the early his- 
tory of the colony. 

,1. What was the purpose of the first colonists who came to Vir- 
ginia? What was the object of the organization of the Lon- 
don and Plymouth Companies? 

4. What was the purpose of a colony according to the idea in Eng- 
land in colonial times? 

•>. What industry developed early in the history of Virginia? Do 
you understand why this industry made it impossible for 
towns to grow up in the earlj' days of the colony? 

6. What was the difference between an "indentured" servant and a 

negro servant? Explain how it was that negro labor sup- 
planted white labor in the tobacco fields. 

7. When and where did the first lawmaking body assemble in the 

New World? What was this body called, and what did it do? 

SUBJECTS FOR FIRTHKR STUDY 

L The life of John Smith. 

2. The importance of tobacco in earlj' Virginia historj'. 
.\ Important Acts passed by the First Legislative AssembK' of 
V^irginia in 1619. 

REFERENCES 

1. Fiske's Old J'irginia and Her Scighbors, Vol. I. pp. 71-76. 80-91. 

185-188. 

2. Southworth's Builders of Our Country, Book 1. pp. 73-78. 

3. Tappan's American Hero Stories, pp. 38-49. 

4. Eggleston's Our First Century, Chapters II, III, IV, V. 



CHAPTER V 

RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION AND 
COLONIZATION 

Religious situation in England. — Until the middle of 
the sixteenth century England had been a Roman Catholic 
country, but its sovereigns were not always submissive to 
the authority of the Pope. Henry VIII was an obstinate 
self-willed monarch. After a long quarrel with the Pope he 
broke away from the Church of Rome and established the 
Church of England (1532). This retained much of the 
service and organization of the Catholic Church, but sub- 
stituted the authority of the king for that of the Pope. 

The Puritans and Separatists. — By the time James I 
ascended the throne (1603) the influence of the reforma- 
tion had become very strong in England. Many English- 
men found their church service too much like the Cath- 
olic and sought to "purify" it by getting rid of some of 
the objectionable rites. These Dissenters, as they were 
called, were divided into Puritans and Separatists. The 
Puritans attended service regularly and conformed to the 
rules of the Church. The Separatists withdrew and formed 
separate congregations. They chose their own pastors and 
worshiped secretly in private houses and barns. James was 
more bitter toward the Puritans and Separatists than toward 
the Catholics. To a delegation asking reforms in the church 
ceremonies he replied : "I shall make them conform them- 
selves, or I will harry them out of the land or else do worse." 
And the king kept his word. 

The story of the Pilgrim Fathers. — In 1608 a band of 

46 



RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION AND COLONIZATION 



47 



Separatists from Scrooby, a village in northern England, 
fled to Holland, the only land in Europe where one could 
worship God as he saw fit. Though driven into exile by the 
persecution of their own king, the Pilgrims, as they called 
themselves, were still loyal Englishmen. To see their chil- 
dren growing up Dutch in speech and manners caused them 
much grief. So they decided to emigrate to America. Erom 



#*: 




* 





The Pilgrims Departiiii^ ircnn Hoilaii<l 



the London Company they obtained a grant of land south of 
the Hudson River, and from the king a promise to let them 
alone as long as they behaved then>selves. The necessary 
money was borrowed from some London merchants. The 
emigrants agreed to devote their full time for seven years 
to farming, fishing and fvir-trading, and to share the prod- 
ucts equally with them. 

On September 6, 1620, the ship Mayflower set sail from 
Plymouth, England, bearing one hundred and two Pilgrims 
— men, women and children — together with all their be- 



48 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



longings. After a stormy voyage of more than two months 
the low sandy hills of Cape Cod were sighted. The map 
made by Captain John Smith of Virginia showed this to be 
north instead of south of the Hudson River. Several at- 
tempts were made to 
turn the vessel to a 
southward course ; but 
the winds were contrary 
and the danger from 
shoals and breakers was 
great. Finally, on De- 
cember 22, 1620, the Pil- 
grims landed at a spot 
designated on their map 
as Plymouth. Tradition 
has it that they stepped 
ashore on a large rock 
which ever since has 
been known as "Ph- 
mouth Rock." 

The Mayflower com- 
pact. — Had the Pilgrims settled on the lands granted 
them by the London Compan}^ they would have been under 
the government of the Virginia Colony. Settling as they did 
outside the jurisdiction of that company, it was necessary 
to provide for some kind of government. Before landing, 
therefore, the men met in the cabin of the Mayfloii'cr and 
drew up the first constitutional document in the history of 
America. This has ever since been known as the "May- 
flower Compact." 




The Canopy over Plymouth Rock 

Notice tliat it is some distance from 
the water 



"In the name of God, amen. We whose names are under- 
written, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord King 
James, by the grace of (jod of Great Britain, France, and 
Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, etc., having under- 
taken, for the glory of God and advancement of the Chris- 



RELIGIOUS PEKSIXUTION AND COLON IZATIOX 



4'* 



tian faith and honor of our King and country, a voyage to 
plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by 
these presents solemnly and mutually, in the presence of 
God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves 
together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and 
preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid ; and by 
virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and 




' Photo from Underwood & Underwood 

Signing the Alayflower Compact 



equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices from 
time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient 
for the general good of the colony, unto which we promise 
all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we 
have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the 11th 
of November, in the year of the reign of our sovereign 
Lord James, of England, France, and Ireland the eighteenth, 
and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Dom. 1620." 

This compact was binding because it conflicted with no 
charter issued by the king and was signed by all the men of 



50 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



the party. The Pilgrim Fathers, quite likely, regarded the 
government they were organizing as temporary, and ex- 
pected to seek a charter from James I at some favorable 
moment. 

The Plymouth colony. — The Pilgrims spent the winter 
building cabins. Owing to the scarcity of food and severity 
of the weather half of them died before spring. Fortunately 
the Indian tribes in the vicinity, weakened from a scourge 




Plymouth in 162J 



Copyrig-ht by A. S. Burbank 



of smallpox, did not interfere with the settlers. In the 
spring a treaty was made with a local chieftain which was 
kept for half a century. The colony grew so slowly that by 
1630 there were only three hundred settlers. It was admin- 
istered for over seventy years by a governor and council 
chosen by vote of the grown men. Until 1639 the laws were 
made in meetings attended by the entire body of voters ; 
afterward by a general court composed of two delegates 
from each town. 

Although it was the autumn of 1623 before the Pilgrims 
had their first bountiful harvest, they were so thrifty and 
industrious that in less than fifteen years their indebtedness 
to the London merchants had been paid in shipments of 
beaver skins and lumber. 

The Puritans settle Massachusetts. — When King James 
died in 1625 he was succeeded by his son Charles I. After 



RELIGIOUS PERSPXUTION AND COLONIZATION 



SI 



tliroe years of quarreling Parliament refused to grant tiic 
king taxes in the usual way. Charles retaliated by dissolv- 
ing it and sending the members to their homes. For the fol- 
lowing eleven years he ruled without a Parliament, levying 
and collecting taxes as he pleased. 

Like his father, Charles hated the Puritans. He set Arch- 
bishop Laud to persecuting them. For their religious be- 
liefs many honest persons were flogged, imprisoned, had 
their noses slit, their ears cut off, or were driven into exile. 
In despair, and influenced by letters from Plymouth, many 
decided to emigrate to America. It was to the Puritans a 
land of promise, a land where they might worship God as 
they thought right. 

In 1628 John Endicott and five other Puritans bought 
from the New Eng- 
land Council, as the 
successors to the Ply- 
mouth Company were 
called, a grant of land 
on the Massachusetts 
coast, extending from 
three miles north of 
the Merrimac River to 
three miles south of 
the Charles and west- 
ward to the South Sea. 
which was thought to 
be not far from the 
lludson River. That 
fall a settlement was 

made at Salem. The next year Endicott's associates secured 
from King Charles a charter confirming their grant and 
creating the "Governor and Company of the Massachusetts 
Bay in New England" and authorizing it to govern what- 
ever colony might be planted. In 1630 John W'inthrop. 




Distribution of New England 
Towns about 1650 



52 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

a wealthy and highly educated Puritan, led a company of 
more than a thousand persons to Massachusetts Bay and 
succeeded Endicott as governor. Thus began the "great 
migration" set in motion by a king's narrowness and obsti- 
nacy, which, in ten years' time, deprived his realm of twenty 
thousand well-to-do middle-class citizens. 

Government of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. — Aware 
of the fickleness of kings, the company determined to pre- 
vent such a royal confiscation of their charter as had hap- 
pened to that of the Virginia Company. All the officers and 
"general court" of the Massachusetts Bay Company moved 
to America and brought the precious document with them. 
When the shareholders of the company became too many 
for easy transaction of business, an assembly composed of 
representatives from the dift'erent towns was substituted. 
This was known as the "General Court of Massachusetts." 

Industrial growth of Massachusetts. — Like all other 
pioneers these Puritans of Massachusetts Bay suffered hard- 
ships and privatioii. It is recorded that in the winter of 
1630-1631 they had to "live on clams and mussels, ground 
nuts and acorns." Soon, however, they were raising food in 
abundance, as the soil was well adapted to the growth not 
merely of Indian corn, but of fruits, grains and vegetables 
of England as well. 

There was good fishing along the shore, and that industry 
was combined with farming. The better grades of fish were 
shipped to England; the inferior to the West Indies. One 
indication of the importance of the West India trade was 
the prevalence of "Spanish pieces of eight" in the colony. 
Other profitable industries were the hewing out of masts 
and timbers for shipment to England and the actual build- 
ing of ships. 

Endeavoring to control the high cost of living, the Gen- 
eral Court repeatedly enacted laws to regulate the wages of 
laborers. Prices were fixed for cattle, corn aud other food- 



RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION AND COLONIZATION 53 



stuffs, and profits on goods imported from England were 
limited to one-third of the investment. 

Religious intolerance. — Although the Puritans endured 
much hardship and dared dangers of the wilderness for the 
sake of freedom to worship according to conscience, they 
did not extend a like freedom to others. Soon after reaching 
Massachusetts Bay they completely broke away from the 
Church of England and organized one of their own, which 
came to be called the Congregational because each congrega- 
tion was independent. In order to be allowed to vote and 
hold office one had to belong to this church. Admission to 
membership was determined by the ministers and deacons. 
All settlers were taxed to help support it and no other form 
of worship was lawful. The result was that as the colony 
grew a large number of the settlers had no part in its gov- 
ernment and there was, of course, much dissatisfaction. 
Among the later immigrants there were so many representa- 
tives of the new and strange sects which had recently sprung 
up in England that the colony finally decided to expel all 
"contentious and heretical folk." 

The persecution 
of Roger Will- 
iams. — • Roger 
Williams, a Salem 
minister, was the 
worst offender. He 
preached tolerance 
for all religions, 
and freedom in at- 
tendance upon the 
services of the 
church and in pay- 
ing taxes for its 

W ■ ) jYtQ Church at Salem from which 

declaimed against Roger Williams Was Banished 




54 OUR COUxXTRY'S HISTORY 

the king's granting of lands in America. They did not be- 
long to him, said Williams, but to the Indians from whom 
alone could a valid title be obtained. This "contentious and 
heretical person" only escaped deportation by flight. It was 
in the winter of 1638 that he wandered through the deep 
forest snows as far as the head of Narragansett Bay. Here, 
on a tract of land given him by the Indians, he founded a 
settlement which, in gratitude for "God's merciful provi- 
dence to him" he named Providence. This became a haven 
for "a great number of weak and distressed souls" from 
Massachusetts and elsewhere. Absolute freedom of wor- 
ship was permitted regardless of whether Christian or not. 
All newcomers signed an agreement to obey such laws as 
were enacted and every one was allowed to vote and hold 
ofBce. Nowhere else was there such freedom. 

Another disturber of the Puritans' peace was Mrs. Anne 
Hutchinson of Boston. She held religious meetings for 
women and by her persuasive speech won many to her 
views. So obnoxious became her criticisms of magistrates 
and clergy that she and her converts were banished. Some 
of them went to what is now New Hampshire and settled 
there. Mrs. Hutchinson herself bought an island in Narra- 
gansett Bay from the Indians and founded the colony of 
Rhode Island. In 1663 this settlement was united with the 
one at Providence, forming the "Colony of Rhode Island 
and Providence Plantations." 

Other New England colonies. — In 1622 the New Eng- 
land Council had granted to Sir Ferdinand Gorges and John 
Mason a tract of land between the Merrimac and Kennebec 
Rivers, and within a few years Portsmouth and Dover were 
established. Later these settlements, together with those 
made by the followers of Mrs. Plutchinson, were placed un- 
der the protection and government of Massachusetts. It 
was not until 1741 that New Flampshire was made an ab- 
solutely separate colony with a governor of its own. 



RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION AND COLONIZATION 5S 

In 1636 dissatisfaction with the Puritan rule caused Rev- 
erend Thomas Hooker to lead a company of fifty families 
from Cambridge to the valley of the Connecticut, where they 
founded Hartford and other villages. Since they had no 
charter, they united wath two towns settled by other Puri- 
tans and drew up a constitution (1639) entitled "The 
Fundamental Orders." It provided for a government based 
on political equality, and made no mention of the king. 

At about the same time (1638) Puritans from England 
made settlements along the shore of Long Island Sound. 
These were united later to form the colony of New Haven. 
Their laws followed closely those given to the Children of 
Israel by Moses. Fourteen crimes were punishable by death 
and the English right of trial by jury omitted, since the 
Mosaic law did not provide for it. In 1662 all the settle- 
ments in Connecticut were merged into one royal province. 

The planting of Maryland. — George Calvert was a 
shareholder in the London Company and secretary to 
James I. By reason of his becoming a Roman Catholic he 
lost his position, but not the favor of his sovereign, from 
whom he received the title of Lord Baltimore. 

Catholics were even more severely treated in England at 
that time than the Puritans. They were not allowed to wor- 
ship publicly and were liable to heavy fines for failure to 
attend the services of the Church of England. Their priests 
had been banished from the country and some of them ac- 
tually hanged. Calvert desired to secure some kind of relief 
for them and conceived the idea of a colony in America. 
He asked Charles I for some land where Catholics might 
find refuge, as the Puritans had in Massachusetts. Influ- 
enced by his Catholic queen, Henrietta Maria, Charles 
yielded to the request. The first grant was of land in New- 
foundland. An attempt to plant there the colony of Avalon 
failed on account of the cold climate. Jtist as Charles was 
about If) grant him a tract farther south Lord Baltimore 



56 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

died. His eldest son, as heir to the title and estate, received 
the land promised his father. It lay between the Plymouth 
Company's tract and the Potomac kiver, and was named 
Maryland in honor of the queen. In 1634 Leonard Calvert, 
a son of the new Lord Baltimore, left England with a mixed 
party of Catholics and Protestants and planted a colony at 
St. Mary's on Chesapeake Bay. There, in an Indian wig- 
wam, was established the first Roman Catholic Church in 
English America. 

Unlike Virginia and the Massachusetts Colonies, the first 
settlers in Maryland experienced no suffering. At the start 
they made friends of the Indians and on cleared lands 
bought from them established their first farms. As in Vir- 
ginia, tobacco was the principal crop and the farms for the 
most part were large. 

Government of Maryland. — Under his charter. Lord 
Baltimore was made "Lord Proprietor" of Maryland. This 
meant that the land was his. He had power to declare war, 
make peace, appoint a governor to represent him in the 
province, levy taxes, pardon criminals, and enact laws. The 
proprietor, however, soon gave his colonists the right to 
elect an assembly for the making of laws with the under- 
standing that these would not be valid until assented to by 
himself. Rents were low, no more than twenty or thirty 
pounds of wheat a year for the use of a hundred acres of 
land. 

Lord Baltimore's liberality attracted settlers and his col- 
ony grew rapidly. He drew up the "Toleration Act" passed 
by the assembly in 1649. This was one of the first laws in the 
history of the world to guarantee freedom of worship. It 
provided that "no person professing to believe in Jesus 
Christ shall from henceforth be anyways troubled, molested 
or discountenanced for or in respect to his or her religion, 
nor in the exercise thereof, within this province ; nor any 



RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION AND COLONIZATION 57 

way compelled to the belief or exercise of any other religion 
against his or her consent." 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. Write in your note-book the story of the Pilgrim Fathers. 

2. Were all Puritans Separatists? Were all Separatists Puritans? 

Why was King James I so bitterly opposed to the Puritans 
and the Separatists? 

3. In the beginning of the seventeenth century which nation, Eng- 

land or Holland, was more tolerant on religious questions? 
Find statements in your text or elsewhere which prove your 
answer. 

4. There was an extensive Puritan migration from the Old World 

to the New World in the decade of 1630-1640. State exactly 
why the Puritans left the Old World and why they came to 
the New World. 

5. The Puritans always settled in towns. Why? How did the 

Virginians settle? Why the difference? 

6. According to your text the Puritans came to Massachusetts in 

order to escape religious persecution in England, and then 
they proceeded to persecute all people who did not believe as 
they did. Find evidence and incidents which support this 
statement, and write the same in your note-book. 

7. Write in your note-book all the reasons you can find why Eng- 

lishmen came to Virginia and to New England. 

8. Write an account of the manner in which England persecuted 

the Roman Catholics. Where did they plant a colony in the 
New World? The colony of Maryland grew very rapidly. 
Why? What is the importance of the Toleration Act of 1649? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. The theory of the "Divine Right of Kings." 

2. The work of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson. 

3. George Calvert and his work. 

REFERENCES 

1. Fiske's Beginnings of New England, pp. 65-87, 114-119, 122-128, 

134-137. 

2. Southworth's Builders of Our Country, Book I, pp. 89-100. 
?. Hart's Colonial Children, pp. 133-136. 

4. Hawthorne's Grandfather's Chair, pp. 10-26,. 28-42. 



CHAPTJ'IR \'l 



RIVALS TO THE ENGLISH IN AMERICA 



Early French settlements. — Not long after John Cab- 
ot's discovery of Newfoundland (1497), French fishermen 
were disputing with those from England the rich fishing 
grounds lying to the southeast. Probably by the time Ver- 
razano made his voyage along the Atlantic coast (1524) 
there were settlements on the island itself for the curing 
of fish. 

In 1534 another French explorer. Jac([ues Cartier, discov- 

e r e d the St. 
^ik — ft « Lawrence River, 

and the follow- 
ing year . sailed 
up that stream 
as far as the 
rapids near the 
present Mon- 
treal. Aside 
from two vain 
attempts to plant 
colonies on the 
South Carolina 
coast and along 
the St. John's 
River in Florida, the French made no effort to establish 
themselves in America until early in the seventeenth cen- 
tury. Henry of Navarre, the French king, did not grant 

58 




Fort Caroline Built by the French in 1562 near 
the Mouth of the St. John's River 



RI\ALS TO THK KXGLISH IX AMERICA 



59 



charters to trading companies or tracts of land to colonizers, 
lie was too busy fighting for his throne and making it pos- 
sible for the Catholics and Huguenots to live at peace with 
each other. 

New France established. — The first permanent French 
settlement in .America was made in 1604 by Pierre du Guast, 
Sieur de ^vlonts, to whom King Henry had granted a mo- 
nopoly of the fur trade. His little colony on the east shore 
of the Bay of Fundy was named Port Royal. Four years 
later Samuel de Champlain, who had been a captain in De 
Alonts' service and was now governor of New France, as 
the country was called, removed the Port Royal settlers to 
Quebec. The English were hostile to what they considered 
French invasion of 
their claims, and 
Quebec afforded a 
natural stronghold 
in case any effort to 
eject them should be 
made. After that 
villages sprang up 
rapidly along the St. 
Lawrence and its 
tributaries. 

At first the French 
combined fur -trad- 
ing with seeking a 




I'roui an nlil print 

Cliamplain's Fort at Quebec 

built of wood and was soon destroyed 



It w; 



new route to the Far East, in the belief that China was not 
far to the west, the rapids above Montreal were named La 
Chine, and early explorers even carried with them such 
articles as would appeal to the Chinese. 

Champlain and the Indians. — Champlain cultivated the 
friendship of the neighboring .Vlgonquin tribes, and with 
Indian guides made many explorations. In 1615 he went 
as far westward as Lake Huron, In his desire to en- 



60 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




From an old print 
Champlain's Fight with the Iroquois Indians near Ticonderoga 

trench himself m the favor of the savages, he was so in- 
discreet as to aid them in an attack on some of their enemies. 
The fight took place on the shore of Lake Champlain, and 
the guns of the white man and his party soon put the foe to 

flight. It was an easy 
victory, but a costly 
one for the French. 
The Indians they 
had routed in such 
terror belonged to 
the "Five Nations," 
and the Iroquois 
were ever afterward 
the unrelenting foes 
of the French. They 
were continually 
waylaying the trad- 




The Roundabout Route the French 

Had to Use to Reach the 

Mississippi Basin 



ers and raiding the settlements, and their hatred was so bit- 
ter that Champlain and those who followed him v\-ere forced 



RIVALS TO THE ENGLISH IN AMERICA 



61 



to avoid the region about Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. In 
order to reach the West, French traders had to use the route 
which led up the Ottawa River and then, by Indian portages, 
across the height of land to Lake Huron. 

New France spreads west. — The French theory of col- 
onization was that colonies afforded an opportunity to their 
]:)romoters to make money. The welfare of the colonists was 
not considered. As soon as the settlements of New France 
were actually started, the king planned to secure huge profits 
from the fur trade. All who engaged in it had to pay large 
sums of money for the privilege, either annually or in ad- 
vance for a certain term of years. Little inducement was 
offered to farmers, and to the end fur-trading continued the 
sole important in- 
dustry. So profitable 
was the traffic that 
fur-bearing animals 
were being rapidly 
exterminated from 
the St. Lawrence re- 
gion ; and traders 
were forced to go 
farther and farther 
into the wilderness 
in quest of pelts. 

Had it not been 
for the enmity of the 
Iroquois, the French 
trading-posts would 
undoubtedly have 
been extended to- 
ward the south, into central New York and the valley of the 
Hudson. Instead, as early as 1634, we find the traders far to 
the west on the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. 
The Frenchmen were able to endure the hardships of their 




A Canadian Fur-Trader 



02 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

long trips by employing the methods of the Indians. Recog- 
nizing the advantage of profiting by the natives' experience 
with life in the wilds, Champlain had required French 
youths to live among them until they had learned the red 
man's woodcraft and his ways of overcoming fatigue. To 
the good sense and foresight of this brave Frenchman may 
be traced the power of endurance that gave France title to 
the vast wilderness later known as Louisiana. 

The success of the fur trade depended on the cooperation 
of the Indians. Aware of this, the French avoided giving 
offense in any way. They refrained from cutting down the 
forests and despoiling the hunting-grounds with farms. 
They even became brothers to the red men by marrying 
Indian women. 

Dutch interest in America. — In 1567, as we have 
learned, the people of the Low Countries rose against their 
ruler, Philip II of Spain, and undertook to establish for them- 
selves an independent republic. For years Dutch traders had 
been making fortunes out of their monopoly of carrying the 
products of the Far East from Lisbon to the ports of north- 
ern Europe. When Portugal was annexed to Spain (1581) 
this privilege was cut off, and freedom to trade with the 
Indies became one of the objects of their long struggle for 
independence. 

Some of the Dutch ship owners sought a new route to the 
Far East by the north; others fought their way via the 
Cape of Good Hope and the Indian Ocean. In 1602 the f 
various competing interests were merged into the Dutch 
East India Company. Through its incessant war upon the 
commerce of Portugal, Spain and England in turn, this 
company helped to make Holland "mistress of the seas" for 
fifty years. Spanish vessels, laden with precious cargoes from 
South America and Mexico, were regarded as fair prey by 
the Dutch, and in order to get at them easier a shorter route 



RIX'ALS TO TH1-: ICXGLiSIi IX AMl-RlL A 



63 



to the Pacific was sought more eagerly than ever. For this 
l)urpose the Dutch East India Company sent out Henry 
Hudson, an Enghsh sea captain in its employ. 

Captain Henry Hudson and his discovery. — Hudson 
steered the clumsy little Half Moon into New York har- 
bor (1609) and started, as he thought, for the Pacific 
Ocean. But the inlet became smaller and smaller and he 
found that he had discovered a river instead of a north- 
west passage. The stream has ever since borne his name. 
By a strange coincidence, Hudson's discovery and Cham- 




New Amsterdam about 1650 



From an old print 



plain's unfortunate encounter with the Iroquois Indians 
took place at the same time, not over a hundred and fifty 
miles apart. 

Five years later, ignoring England's claim to this region, 
a trading-post was established on Manhattan Island at the 
mouth of the Hudson. Others were soon scattered along the 
river as far north as the present site of Albany. To these 
settlements the Dutch gave the name "New Netherlands." 

Growth of Nev7 Netherlands. — In 1621 Holland granted 
a charter to the Dutch West India Company, giving it a 
monopoly of the trade in New Netherlands ; also the right to 
establish and govern a colony. Holland only claimed the 
region lying between the valleys of the North River (Hud- 
son) and the South River (Delaware) as far north as the 
Mohawk. The West India Company, however, went far 



64 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



beyond these limits, and trading-posts bearing the Dutch 
flag soon appeared in the Connecticut Valley and on Long 
Island. 

Owing to conditions in Holland, and lack of interest on 
the part of the company, the colony did not grow much at 
first. In 1626 Governor Peter Minuit bought the whole of 
Manhattan Island from the Indians for twenty-four dollars' 
worth of beads and other trinkets. The little settlement 
already made there was then called New Amsterdam. 

The Dutch patroon system. — Three years later (1629), 
in an effort to encourage immigration, the patroon system 
was adopted. A large tract of land subject to purchase 
from the Indians was granted to any shareholder who 
would bring over at his own expense fifty or more grown 
persons. These proprietors, called patroons, had the right 
to govern the settlements they planted. For the expenses in- 
curred they were reimbursed by rents from their tenants 
and by a share in the crops and calves. For many miles 
the Hudson was bordered with these great estates. The 

tenants on them 
were not allowed 
to quit for ten 
years without 
the consent of 
the patroons and 
they were re- 
quired to give 
their aristocratic 
landlords an op- 
portunity to buy 
their produce 
before offering 

The Home of a Patroon it to others. 

This man's estate covered three of the present rr^t . • 

New York counties i hese restric- 




RIVALS TO THE ENGLISH IN AMERICA 65 

lions caused so much dissatisfaction on the tenants' part 
that finally the company adopted the policy of selling land 
directly to the settlers. After that New Netherlands grew 
much more rapidly. 

Frontier troubles. — The Dutch were soon in trouble 
from their encroachments upon the English. In 1633 a few 
adventurous Pilgrims from Plymouth started a rival trading- 
station on the Connecticut River, and the Puritans of the 
Massachusetts Bay Colony resented the intrusion of the 
Dutch into what they regarded as strictly English territory. 
To prevent the New Netherlanders from acquiring the val- 
ley of the Connecticut was one reason assigned by the Rev- 
erend Thomas Hooker, when he sought permission to lead 
his band of immigrants thither. After considerable unpleas- 
antness the Dutch yielded and returned to New Nether- 
lands. 

In 1638 Swedish traders located a small settlement on 
the Delaware, near the present site of Wilmington. The 
Dutch had abandoned their former trading-posts in this 
region on account of Indian troubles, but still claimed the 
territory. They now protested angrily against the way the 
Swedes "squatted" on their land and began to erect forts. 
One of these the Swedes seized. Governor Stuyvesant sent 
several armed boats to demand the surrender of "New 
Sweden." W^eak and defenseless, the colony could do noth- 
ing but submit, and it was then annexed to New Nether- 
lands. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. When and where was the first permanent French settlement 

made in the New World? What fatal blunder did Champlain 
make in 1609? 

2. The text says that the French king did not grant charters to 

trading companies as the English did. Why not? 

3. At first what were the two principal reasons that prompted 

Frenchmen to come to America? Observe clearlv the differ- 



66 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

ences between the motives of the French and the motives of 
the Enghsh. 

4. What was the French theory of colonization? How did it differ. 

if at all, from the English theory of colonization? 

5. What was the first reason that prompted the Dutch to come tn 

America? When and where was the first Dutch settlement 
made in the New World? 

6. Write in your note-book a description of the Dutch patroon sys- 

tem. Do you find any points of resemblance between a patroon 
plantation in New York and a Virginia plantation ? 

7. Why did Sweden plant a colony in the New World? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. The French fur-trader. 

2. Peter Stuyvesant, tlie man and his work. 

3. The Patroon System. 

REFERENCES 

1. Parkman's J'ionccrs of Fraucc, pp. 175-180, 210-227, 228-25o. 

254-258. 

2. Fiske's Dutch ami Quaker Colonics, Vol. I, pp. 82-94, 1.^3-137, 

198-201. 

Europeans Discover, Explore, and Colonize the New World 

I. I^uROPEA.N Beginnings in America. 

A. Our early relations with the Old World. 

B. The conditions in Europe in the fifteenth century. 

1. The knowledge of geography. 

2. Life among tiie peasants. 

3. Town life. 

4. The barons and the churchmen. 

5. Trade and manufactories. 

6. The influence of the Crusades. 

7. The Renaissance increased knowledge. 

8. The rise and growth of the Turkish Empire necessi- 
tates a new route to India for European traders. 

9. The voyages of the Portuguese along tlie African 
coast. 

C. Columbus discovers America. 

1. His early life. 

2. He gets a new idea as to the shape of the cartli. 



RIVALS TO THE ENGLISH IN AMERICA 67 

3. His struggles for recognition and assistance. 

4. His voyages and discoveries. 

5. The importance of Columbus' discoveries. 

II. The Struggle between England and Spain. 

A. The rights of natives disregarded in discovered lands. 

1. The American Indians, their characteristics, tribal 
divisions, etc. 

B. The material importance to Spain of her discoveries in 
the Nevi^ World. 

1. The conquest of Mexico and Peru and the entrance 
into the United States from the Southwest. 

C. The explorations of De Leon, De Soto and Narvaez on the 
northern mainland. 

D. The struggle between Protestant England and Catholic 
Spain. 

1. Hawkins and Drake prej-ed upon Spanish commerce. 

2. England defeated the Spanish Armada. 

E. The discoveries of the Cabots. 

III. The Planting of Colonies in the Ne\V World by England. 

A. The formation of trading and colonization companies. 

1. The East India Company. 

2. The London and Plymouth Companies. 

B. The settlement of Jamestown. 

1. The early struggles of the colonists, and the work of 
John Smith. 

2. The supply of labor for the colony. 

3. The government of the colony. 

C. The founding of the Plymouth Colony. 

1. Religious intolerance in England. 

2. The Pilgrims seek religious freedom first in Holland 
and then in America. 

3. The Mayflower Compact. 

4. The early struggles of the colonists. 

D. The founding of other settlements. 

1\'. England's Rivals in the Settlement of the New World. 

A. The French settlements in America. 

L The French theory of colonization. 

2. New France established. 

3. The part of the United States claimed by the French. 

B. The DutcU settle New Netherlands. 



CHAPTER VII 

POLITICAL UPHEAVALS IN ENGLAND AND 
THEIR EFFECT 






The revolution in England. — The eleven years (1629- 
1640) during which Charles I ruled England without a Par- 
liament, were a stormy time. To meet his expenses the 
king levied many kinds of taxes which his subjects refused 
to pay. He had no means of subjugating the Scotch, who 
had risen in rebellion. Finally in despair, on the advice of 
the peers of the kingdom, Charles summoned Parliament. 

This assembly, 
known as the "Long 
Parliament," set to 
work to reform the 
entire government. 
Charles assented to 
some of its acts, but, 
becoming angry at 
others, with an 
armed force invaded 
the hall in which it 
was sitting and de- 
manded the surren- 
der of certain of its 
members. The result 
was civil war. The 
adherents of the 
king were members 
of the Church of 
England and Roman 




The Trial of Charles I 



68 



POLITICAL UPHEAVALS IN ENGLAND 69 

Catholics. They were nicknamed "Cavaliers'" because many 
of them belonged to the upper classes and rode fine horses. 
The Parliamentary army was composed of Puritans, called 
in derision "Roundheads" from their fashion of wearing 
the hair close-cropped. Led by their grim Puritan general, 
Oliver Cromwell, the Roundheads eventually won the war. 
The king was captured, tried by Parliament for treason and 
put to death ( 1649) . England was declared a republic. For 
nine years the Commonwealth, as the government was 
called, was ruled by Cromwell with an iron hand. 

Effect of the revolution on America. — During the war 
emigration to New England almost ceased. Puritans were 
needed at home to fight in the Parliamentary armies, and 
after the Commonwealth came into power they could enjoy 
there the freedom which formerly had to be sought in the 
wilderness overseas. England, distracted by civil war, had 
little time to bother about her colonies, and the New Eng- 
landers did as they pleased without taking sides with either 
king or Parliament. 

Virginia, composed largely of rich landowners, sym- 
pathized with Charles. In 1642 Governor Berkeley banished 
all Roundheads from the colony without any resistance to 
his orders. So loyal was Virginia to the royal cause that the 
governor, when news reached him of the execution of the 
king, proclaimed his son. Prince Charles, as sovereign and 
invited him to come to America. Naturally a welcome was 
ofifered the Cavaliers, stripped of their lands by the Com- 
monwealth and forced to seek safety in flight. In twenty 
3'ears (1650-1670) the population of Virginia increased 
from fifteen to forty thousand, and many of the newcomers 
were men of fine character and much culture — the best type 
of Cavaliers. In Maryland the Baltimores were dispossessed 
of their rights for a short time through the efforts of the 
many Puritans who had been permitted to settle there, and 
the assembly passed a law forbidding Roman Catholic wor- 



70 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

ship. Bloodshed followed, but, although the Puritans de- 
feated the supporters of the Proprietors, Cromwell refused 
to recognize the government they tried to set up. 

The restoration. — England fell into confusion after 
Cromwell's death (1658). Parliament was opposed by the 
army and hindered by Puritan intolerance. Prince Charles, 
who was living in France at this time, was willing to return 
with the promise that "no man shall be disquieted or called 
in question for difiference of opinion in matters of religion 
which do not disturb the peace of the kingdom." Parliament 
then voted that "the government is and ought to be, by 
kings, lords and commons," and on the prince's arrival in 
London he was crowned as Charles II (1660). 

Effect of the restoration on colonization. — The restora- 
tion had a singular effect on colonization. Charles II had 
promised not to interfere with the lands confiscated from 
royalists during the revolution. It was hard, therefore, 
for him to find means to reward those who had stood by 
the royal cause. America seemed to offer a solution. There 
was no lack of land in his vast domains there ; so he adopted 
the plan of giving immense tracts of it to his favorites. 
The new proprietors were also granted the right to govern 
^ jj the colonies which they 

CMlfMA^/t/\^ fb l^^y might plant, much as 

the Baltimores did in 

, - -J? ^ p^ Carolinas. — As earlv 

S^m€ ^r^(n^^ ^^ 1635 go„,, discon- 

tented persons from 
"WJ: Act/ed^ J^S^'^- Virginia moved to the 

Facsimile of the Signatures of the banks of the Chowan 
Carolina Proprietors j^j^gj. ^^^^ Albemarle 

Sound. They were occupied with farming and getting out 
naval stores, and were not disturbed. Later when Virginia 



I'OLITICAL UPHEAVALS IX KXGLAXD 71 

l)Cgan to persecute Quakers, many of them, too, fled to this 
region. 

In 1663 a tract extending from Virginia to the Spanish 
colony of Florida and westward to the South Sea was be- 
stowed by Charles on eight of his friends. The new pro- 
prietors complimented their benefactor by naming the prov- 
ince Carolina (from Carolus, the Latin form of Charles). 
The following year they sent out a governor and later tried 
to install a system of government, framed by Lord Shafts- 
bury, one of their number, and John Locke, the great Eng- 
lish philosopher. This "Grand Model" with its nobility 
called "landgraves" and "caciques" and its serfs or "leet- 
men" did not appeal at all to the pioneers, who had hewn out 
homes for themselves in the wilderness. Through protests 
and wrangling they finally forced its entire abandonment 
and continued holding their assembly. 

The founding of Charleston. — In 1670 a company of 
colonists located on the Ashley River in southern Carolina. 
Ten years later they moved to a more healthy site, the tip of 
the peninsula formed by the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, and 
founded Charleston. Hither came in considerable numbers 
English planters from the Barbados Islands, Dutch emi- 
grants from New York, and the better class of English- 
men. Charleston soon became a thriving seaport and the 
home of many wealthy planters who had large rice and 
indigo plantations along the coast, worked by negro slaves. 

Religious toleration in Carolina. — The Carolinians had 
enjoyed religious toleration from the first and this attracted 
many oppressed persons from Europe as well as from the 
other colonies. To the northern settlements came Swiss 
and Germans from the Rhine Valley, Highlanders from 
Scotland, and Scotch-Irish from the north of Ireland. The 
southern settlement became a refuge for the Huguenots 
then so bitterly persecuted in France. 

Originally the proprietors expected to treat both settle- 



12 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



ments as one colony, but they soon found this would not do. 
The two sections differed too much and were too widely 
separated. The northern was divided into small farms on 
which the settlers by their own labor raised grain, cattle, 
hogs and sheep. In the South, estates were large and tilled 




Scile'of two Furl 



h-'-^K'r^^., 



Plan of Charleston about 1700 



by slaves, and little inducement was offered to small 
farmers. 

The division of Carolina. — In 1719 the people of the 
Charleston region became so dissatisfied with the rule of the 
proprietors that they deposed their governor and petitioned 
the king to make the colony a royal province. George I did 
this and ten years later, after he had bought out the owners, 
his successor, George II, divided Carolina into two provinces, 
corresponding to North and South Carolina of to-day. 

Conquest of New Netherlands. — By the middle of the 



POLITICAL UPHEAVALS IN ENGLAND IZ 

seventeenth century the spirit of rivalry between English 
and Dutch trading companies had grown into such hatred 
that between 1652 and 1674 these nations fought each other 
in three wars. 

The British colonial theory expected the colonists to pro- 
duce articles needed by the mother country. It required the 
entire output to be sent to England that the merchants there 
might make a profit on such of the goods as should find sale 
elsewhere. The Navigation Act of 1651 restricted trade 
with Asia, Africa and America to vessels built in England, 
and owned and manned by Englishmen. A cargo from an- 
other European country must be brought in a vessel owned 
in that country or in an English vessel. It also interfered 
with any direct trade between the separate colonies, or be- 
tween the colonies and the West Indies. An unpopular law 
can never be fully enforced, and this one was constantly 
evaded. 

Holland was aggrieved because she knew the Navigation 
Act was designed to ruin her profitable carrying trade be- 
tween the colonies and Europe. She was also insulted by 
England's demand of naval salutes from all craft in the 
English Channel. The first time an English admiral ordered 
the Dutch flag to be lowered in salute (1652) he was an- 
swered by a volley of shot. For two years occasional sea 
fights disturbed the waters about the coasts of Britain. 
After one victory the Dutch admiral, Van Tromp, nailed a 
broom to his masthead, announcing his intention to sweep 
the English from the seas, but defeat soon subdued his be- 
havior if not his spirit. 

Rivalry went on after the fighting ceased and in 1664 
Britain decided to enforce her claim to New Netherlands 
and get rid of Dutch competition in that quarter. An Eng- 
lish fleet anchored ofif New Amsterdam and demanded its 
surrender. Peter Stuyvesant, the "leather-sided, lion- 
hearted" old governor, fumed and raged. "I would rather 



74 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



be carried to my grave than yield," he swore. But there was 
no disposition on the part of the New Netherlanders to fight 




Governor Stuyvesant Tearing Up the English 
Demand for the Surrender of New Netherlands 

for such a tyrant as he had been, and the Dutch flag came 
down. 

New York and New Jersey. — Before sending the fleet 
King Charles had given the territory between the Connecti- 
cut and Delaware Rivers to his brother James, Duke of 
York. As soon as the Dutch were ousted from control the 
duke sold the portion lying southwest of the Hudson to 
Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret, ex-governor of the 
Isle of Jersey, in whose honor it was called New Jersey. 
Long Island and the valley of the Hudson were given the 
name New York from that of the new proprietor. The strip 
between the Hudson and Connecticut was left under the rule 
of the Connecticut Colony. 

Character of New Jersey colonists. — Berkeley soon 
sold his share of New Jersey to scimc Quakers and the 



POLITICAL UPHKAVALS IN ENGLAND 



75 



province was divided into East and West Jersey. Re- 
ligious tolerance and popular assemblies attracted many 
kinds of immigrants. The Jerseys were peopled with the 
discontented and persecuted from other colonies and lands 
overseas. This mixture of Puritans, Dutch, Quakers and 
Scotch Presbyterians constituted a prosperous agricultural 
colony. It was kept free from Indian molestation by the 
policy of paying the natives for the land and by general 
fair dealings. After buying their farms from the Indians 
the settlers considered themselves the owners and objected 
to paying rents to the proprietors. In order to settle the dis- 
pute, the whole territory was purchased by the Crown in 
1702 and reunited into a single royal province. 

New York is hard to govern. — New York had a stormy 
lime from the start. 
The duke found his 
Dutch colonists sul- 
len and defiant. 
Differing in speech, 
manners and cus- 
toms they resented 
English rule as 
much as they 
dared. The gov- 
ernor and council 
found them so dif- 
ficult to manage 
that the proprietor 

had to consent to a popular assembly. In 1685 the Duke 
of York became king of England and thus New York came 
under the direct rule of the Crown. Then the assembly was 
abolished and the Church of England took charge of the 
excellent schools which the Dutch had established. 

Troubles with New England. — The New Haven Colony 
was harboring some of the regicides — members of Parlia- 




1' rom an old print 

New York in 1687, Showing the 
City Hall and Great Dock 



76 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

ment who had voted for the execution of Charles I. As 
punishment Charles II annexed it to Connecticut, which had 
already won the royal favor by applying for a charter. For 
Rhode Island, too, Charles had a kindly feeling, as he re- 
sented the harsh attitude assumed toward the colony by its 
Puritan neighbors. To both Connecticut and Rhode Island 
the king granted very liberal charters, which allowed them 
to elect their own governors and did not require that the 
acts of their assemblies be submitted for royal approval. 
Since Charles did not consider the Massachusetts people 
submissive enough to the royal authority, he sent over com- 
missioners to make them "more conformable" by taking the 
oath of allegiance. He also demanded the repeal of their 
law requiring one to belong to the Congregational church 
in order to vote, and the enactment of another permitting the 
Church of England to hold services in the colony. Instead of 
receiving the commissioners courteously, the Massachusetts 
people put their forts in trim and defiantly informed the 
gentlemen that the colony was empowered, by its charter, to 
safeguard its own rights, and was not obliged to listen to any 
royal commission. Such defiance on the part of his subjects 
only stiffened the king's determination. He resolved to sub- 
due them, but went about it cautiously. Under the pretense 
of conciliation an agent was sent to find out whether Massa- 
chusetts was strong enough to declare independence of the 
Crown. Receiving a satisfactory report from him, Charles, 
now that his war with Holland was over, revoked the 
Massachusetts charter and made the colony a royal province 
shortly before his death in 1684. 

The next year, as the first step in his plan for centralizing 
the government of the colonies, James 11 revoked the char- 
ters of Rhode Island and Connecticut and appointed Sir 
Edmund Andros viceroy of New England, New York and 
New Jersey. Andros believed it to be the duty of subjects 
to serve their sovereign and obey his laws. When he under- 



POLITICAL UPHEAVALS IN ENGLAND 11 

took to carry out the king's commands and prevent the as- 
sembhes from meeting and levying taxes, the colonists cried 
"Tyrant !" They were on the point of rebellion when news 
came that James had been deposed and William and Mary 
had ascended the throne. In their wrath the Massachusetts 
people arrested Andros and sent him to England, there to 
be tried on charges preferred by the General Court. 

To conciliate them a new charter was granted uniting 
Massachusetts, Plymouth and Maine. New Hampshire was 
made a separate colony. There was more royal restraint, 
however, than formerly. Judges were appointed by the 
Crown now, in addition to the governor, lieutenant-governor 
and secretary. The governor was authorized to set aside the 
acts of the General Court. It is probable, nevertheless, 
that more than once the governors sacrificed their sovereign's 
interests to satisfy the representatives of his unruly sub- 
jects, who controlled the purse strings and thus their own 
salaries. 

William Penn and the Quakers. — The sect known as 
"The Society of Friends," or Quakers, came into promi- 
nence during the Commonwealth. Its members believed that 
God speaks directly to the human conscience and that this 
inner voice must be obeyed. Their meetings were informal 
gatherings, where men and women alike were free to speak 
as the spirit might move them. Quakers were very out- 
spoken in their criticism of both Puritans and the Church of 
England. Ministers and ceremonies were denounced as a 
hindrance to true religion. Their disregard of worldly fash- 
ion was shown in plainness of dress, manners and speech. 
Believing all men to be equal, the Quaker refused to bow 
or dofif his hat, and addressed every one as "Friend" with- 
out distinction of title. He endured imprisonment and 
torture, and in England and Massachusetts some even died 
for their faith. 

William Penn, the son of an English admiral, became a 



78 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



Quaker while a student at Ox- 
ford. From his father Penn 
inherited the king's note for 
sixteen thousand pounds. 
Knowing that Charles would 
never pay the money, Penn 
asked him for the land in 
America which lay between 
New York and Maryland. His 
request was granted and the 
tract was named Pennsylvania 
(Penn's Woods) by Charles 
himself, in memory of his dear friend, the admiral. In the 
charter Penn was made sole owner on condition that he 
should give the king one-fifth of all gold and silver found 
and send His Majesty two beaver skins every New Year's 
Day as an evidence of fealty. 

Desiring to control the Delaware to its mouth, Penn in- 




William Penn 




Tlie Pliihuleli>lii,i Juuu House aboui 1698 



POLITICAL UPHEAVALS IN ENGLAND 79 

duced the Duke of York to give him what had been New- 
Sweden and was claimed by him as part of New York. 
These "three lower counties on the Delaware" became a 
part of Pennsylvania, but with a separate assembly and 
deputy governor. In 1704, however, they were made a dis- 
tinct colony and given the name Delaware. 

Founding of Philadelphia. — William Penn immedi- 
ately set about his project of founding a refuge for Quakers 
and all mankind. Pie first landed in Pennsylvania in 1683 
with a company of one hundred. He was met by a delega- 
tion of Swedes, Dutch and English already inhabiting his 
province. "They did deliver unto him, one turf with a twig 
uj)on it, a jiorringer with river water, and soil," in token that 
he owned the land. That same year he laid out Philadelphia, 
the "City of Brotherly Love," at the junction of the Dela- 
ware and Schuylkill Rivers. 

True to his Quaker principles, Penn recognized the rights 
of the Indians. In 1683 he met with them in council for the 
purchase of land for his settlements. The ceremony was in 
Indian style, with feasting, speech-making, the smoking of 



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William Perm Holding a Cuimcil with tlic Indians 



80 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



a peace pipe and the gift to Penn of a belt of wampum. 
The treaty of peace and friendship made here was never 
sworn to, but it was so faithfully kept that the Quakers and 
these Indians were lasting friends. 

The Great Law. — The first assembly of Pennsylvania 
enacted the "Great Law." This provided that any taxpayer 
might vote and any Christian might hold ofifice. Treason and 




MASON^nd DIXON S LINE 
LINE CLAIMED BY MARYLAND 



The Boundary Dispute between the Penn and Baltimore Heirs 

Mason and Dixon's northern line (36° 30') later came to be 

regarded the northern limit of slavery 

murder were the only crimes punishable with death. Pro- 
fanity, drunkenness, gambling, lying, clamorous scolding 
and railing with the tongue, attending "stage plays" and 
cruel sports carried heavy penalties. No one was to be dis- 
turbed in his worship and church attendance was not re- 
quired. A far-sighted philanthropy was shown in the re- 
quirement that each child above twelve years should learn 
some trade or useful occujxition, and also in the provision 
for the refornintion of criminals. 

Growth of Pennsylvania. — Three thousand people came 



POLITICAL UPHEAVALS IN ENGLAND 81 

to Pennsylvania in 1684. Never before had a colony been 
so widely advertised both in England and on the Continent. 
Oppressed peoples came from remote parts of Europe — 
Germans fled thither from religious persecution, Scotch- 
Irish to escape the extortionate taxes of Ireland, and Jews 
to find at last a home. At the close of the first year Phila- 
delphia had one hundred fifty-seven dwellings, and within 
three years at least two thousand inhabitants. 

After two years the proprietor returned to England. Then 
disagreements arose among the various nationalities in 
Pennsylvania. There was resistance to taxation and to the 
rulings of the governor, who frequently vetoed acts of the 
assembly. Trouble arose, too, with Maryland over the 
boundary, for the Baltimores claimed much of southern 
Pennsylvania and all of Delaware. This matter was not 
finally settled until 1767, when two English surveyors, 
Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, established the line 
which has since been known as "Mason and Dixon's Line." 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

L In the days of the EngHsh Colonies what happened in the mother 
or parent nation had its efiFect in the colony in the New 
World. For example, during the years from 1629-1640 
Charles I, who hated the Puritans, ruled England most auto- 
cratically. Consequently, large numbers of Puritans left Eng- 
land and souglit homes in America. Similarly, during the pe- 
riod extending from 1650 to 1660, when the Puritans or "Round- 
heads" ruled England through the iron hand of their leader, 
Oliver Cromwell, large numbers of the late king's followers 
or "Cavaliers" left England and found homes in America. 
Study the effect of the Puritan migration in the development 
of the New England Colonies, and the Cavalier migration in 
the development of Virginia. 

2. People of many European nationalities settled in the Carolinas. 
Why did these people leave Europe, and why did they migrate 
to the Carolinas instead of New England and Virginia? Why 
was the Carolina settlement divided into two provinces? 



R2 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



.1. "Why did England make war on Holland about the middle of the 
seventeenth centurj'? What was the effect of the war in 
America ? 

4 Ilo\v do you explain the fact that the colonies of East and West 
Jersey (now New Jersej-) attracted immigrants from so many 
different European nations? How did the settlers in the Jer- 
seys avoid Indian troubles? 

5. Write in j'our note-book some of the religious beliefs and social 
and religious practises of the Quakers. In which colonies did 
they settle? 

6 Describe the founding of the city of Philadelphia. State clearly 
why William Penn got along so well with the Indians. 

7. What were some of the important laws made in Pennsjdvania 

by the first assembly of the colony? Which colony gave more 
religious freedom, Pennsylvania or Massachusetts? Pennsyl- 
vania or New York? Pennsylvania or Maryland? Pennsyl- 
vania or Virginia? 

8. Name three religious sects which did not indulge in religious 

persecution in colonial times. What is meant by the Mason 
and Dixon Line? 

SUBJECTS FOR KURTHKR STUDY 

1. Oliver Cromwell and his army. 

2. The regicide judges in New England. 

3. William Penn, his life and work. 

REFERENCES 

1. Eggleston's Our First Century, Chapters XIII and XIV. 

2. Southworth's Builders of Our Country, pp. 187-196. 

3. Fiske's Dutch and Quaker Colonies, Vol. II, pp. 114-117, 147-152. 



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Wampum Belt given Penn by the Indians to 
Confirm the Treaty Made with Him 



CHAPTER VIII 

FRENCH DOMINATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI 

BASIN 



Indifference of the Spanish and English. — Spain made 
no attempt to follow up the discoveries of De Soto in the 
Mississippi Valley. The expedition had failed to reveal any 
gold or silver and consequently the Spaniards had no fur- 
ther interest in the country. It is not unlikely that the ex- 
istence of the great river was forgotten. For half a century 




Mission of San Jose near San Antonio, Texas 

Spain was content with a single settlement in what is now 
our country, St. Augustine. This garrison defended her 
claims to the mainland and protected her island empire to the 
south. 

Later when the Roman Catholic church had become 
established in Mexico, its missionaries started to spread its 
influence northward. Over mountains and across deserts 

83 



84 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

they made their way planting mission stations that the sav- 
ages of the wilderness might be won to the "Holy Faith." 
By the middle of the seventeenth century Spanish priests 
were settled in a hundred places in Texas, New Mexico, 
Arizona and California and had made a hundred thousand 
Indian converts. 

When the English began to colonize America they be- 
lieved the continent to be no more than a few hundred miles 
wide. Sir Francis Drake's voyaging along the Pacific coast 
should have corrected this mistake, but knowledge spread 
slowly in those days. The early settlements were made along 
the Atlantic coast or close to tide-water. As late as 1689 
but few colonists lived more than twenty miles distant from 
navigable streams. 

Everywhere except in central New York mountains closed 
the western wilderness against exploration. Guarded by 
the forbidding Appalachians and the hostile Iroquois, the 
Great Mississippi basin seemed secure from intrusion. After 
attempts to discover the Northwest Passage had proved fu- 
tile few were bold enough to try to find out what might be 
beyond the densely forested momitain barriers. What spirit 
of adventure there was came from the south. In 1650 a man 
named Bland crossed the moimtains near Appomattox and 
journeyed on to the Shenandoah River. A little later two 
other Virginians crossed the divide to the head waters of 
the New River, and in 1675 fur-traders reached the Chero- 
kee regions of Carolina. 

The Jesuit missionaries. — France was Roman Catholic, 
and her kings were ambitious to help spread the Christian 
faith among the savages of America. Throughout New 
France the fur-traders were followed closely by the "black 
gowns," as the Indians called the Jesuit missionaries. All 
through the forests these brave priests sought out Indian 
villages wdiere they might build chapels for worship. By 
precept and example they won thousands to the Church. 



FRENCH DOMIXATIOX OF MISSISSIPPI BASIN 



85 




Their work as pioneers was one of great service, for not 
only did they explore vast areas of what is now the Middle 
West, but around many of their chapels in time grew little 
settlements destined to become some of the great cities of 
our country. 

Marquette explores the Mississippi. — Father Marquette 
had built his chapel on the Strait of Mackinac, which con- 
nects Lake Huron with Lake 
Michigan. Having been told by 
the Indians of a great river to 
the southwest, he resolved to 
visit it and preach to the natives 
along the way. In 1673 he set 
out, accompanied by Louis Joliet, 
a trained explorer from Quebec, 
and a few other Frenchmen. 
Paddling their canoes along the 
northern shore of Lake Michi- 
gan and through Green Bay, 
they passed into the Fox River, 

and ascended it to its source. They then crossed over to the 
Wisconsin River by an Indian portage and floated down that 
stream to where it enters the Mississippi. Near where Prai- 
rie du Chien, Wisconsin, now stands they first looked upon 
the "Father of Waters" as it wound its way between forested 
banks towering far above them. Dangers lurked in treach- 
erous currents that threatened to upset their canoes, and 
skulking savages were ever ready to pounce upon them. 
When he reached the mouth of the Arkansas, Marquette 
learned that the river flowed into the Gulf of Mexico and 
that a Spanish expedition was exploring the shores near its 
mouth. Fearful lest he might encounter it should he go 
farther, Marquette turned about. The little fleet of canoes 
finally reached Lake Michigan by way of the Illinois River 
and the portage now followed by the Chicago Drainage 
Canal. 



Father Marquette on His 

Trip clown the 

Mississippi 



86 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




La Salle's explorations. — Of all gallant explorers, Rob- 
ert Cavelier Sieur de la Salle's name stands highest in the 
history of New France. In early manhood he crossed the 
Atlantic and was soon engaged in the fur trade and in ex- 
tending the dominions in America of 
Louis XIV, his king. He was the 
first Frenchman to sail the waters of 
Lake Erie and penetrate the wilds to 
the south, where dwelt the hostile 
Five Nations. Learning of a great 
river to the westward which he 
thought might be the Colorado, he 
resolved to go in search of it. 

The king gave La Salle permission 
to explore the interior of America 
and to take possession in His Maj- 
esty's name of any regions dis- 
covered. He did not finance the ex- 
pedition, however ; La Salle had to 
defray his own expenses by trapping and trading. 

La Salle's associates, Hennepin and Tonti. — Among 
his associates in the venture were Father Hennepin, a 
Franciscan missionary, and Flenry de Tonti. The company 
started from the St. Lawrence and followed, to the Missis- 
sippi, the same route by which Marquette had returned. 
Progress was necessarily slow, as trading-posts had to be 
built along the way and furs collected to exchange for 
supplies. In 1680 La Salle sent Father Hennepin with two 
companions to explore the head waters of the Mississippi. 
They got as far as the Falls of St. Anthony near the present 
site of Minneapolis. Here they were captured by Indians, 
but later rescued by Duluth, a fur-trader who had a post 
near where the city of Duluth now stands. Two years later 
(1682) La Salle reached the delta of the Mississippi. With 
ceremonies that awed the Indian onlookers he proceeded to 



Robert Cavelier Sieur 
de la Salle 



FRENCH DOMINATION OF MISSISSIPPI BASIN 



87 



take possession of the entire basin and the adjacent shores 
of the Gulf of Mexico, in behalf of the "Grand Monarch," 
Louis XIV of France, and to give the whole territory the 
name Louisiana. 

La Salle writes the king. — The king- was greatly- 
pleased with La Salle's reports, one of which read as fol- 
low? : 



"In the rich bottom lands were cornfields and smiling 
meadows, mulberry trees and grapevines. And a great va- 
riety of wild fruits grew in the woodlands ; magnificent pine 
forests offered an inexhaustible supply of naval stores, while 
lead deposits that would yield two parts ore to one of refuse 
only- waited the miner's pick. Beaver were rare, but buf- 
faloes, bears and deer abounded. The trade in peltry alone 
could be made to yield 20,000 ecus (about $200,000) a year. 
When the Indians are trained to tend silk worms that in- 
dustry alone would furnish a valuable article of trade." 



A few years later 
Louis, ignoring the 
fact that the gulf 
coast was claimed 
by Spain, aided La 
Salle to fit out an 
expedition which 
was to proceed by 
sea to the mouth 
of the Mississippi 
and there establish 
a colony. Mistaken 
in his reckonings, 
the captain steered 
past the place as- 
signed and landed 
at Matagorda Bay 
on the Texas coast. 




From an old print 

La Salle's Expedition Landing at 
Matagorda Bay 



88 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

Dissatisfied with the location, the settlers finally started 
overland for some French trading-post. On the way their 
leader was murdered by one of his own men — a pitiable end 
for such a heroic life. 

French settlements along the gulf. — Accounts of La 
Salle's fate were brought back to France and the king was 
persuaded to make colonization in Louisiana a royal enter- 
prise. In 1698 two frigates sailed from Brest bearing two 
hundred soldiers and colonists under the leadership of Iber- 
ville Le Moyne, the son of a colonial officer at Quebec. Touch- 
ing at Pensacola they asked permission to land there, alleg- 
ing that they were looking for vagrant fur-traders harbored 
along the coast. This request being refused by the Spanish 
governor, the vessels went on to Ship Island, about eighteen 
miles southeast of the present Mississippi City, where a few 
settlers were landed. The main colony was planted on the 
Back Bay of Biloxi (1698). The site chosen for the settle- 
ment, called Fort Maurepas, was unfortunate. Disheartened 
by the unhealthy location and by the difficulty of reaching 
the back country, many settlers deserted. Three years later 
a removal was made to Twenty-seven Mile Bluflf on Mobile 
River, where Fort Louis was built, and again in 1710 to 
the present site of Mobile. Leaving tHe newcomers building 
homes at Fort Maurepas, Iberville and his brother, Bien- 
ville, set out on an exploring trip. They skirted the coast 
as far as the Mississippi and then ascended that stream to 
where it receives the waters of the Red River. On this trip 
they encountered an English frigate from Carolina, sent by 
the proprietors to establish a post which might serve as a 
safeguard to the interior of their grant. Deceived by the 
statement that the French were already established in force 
a few miles above, the commander turned around and sailed 
away. The place where this happened, eighteen miles below 
New Orleans, is yet known as English Turn. 

The Spanish resented the thrusting of a wedge of French 



FRENCH DOMINATION OF MISSISSIPPI BASIN 89 

settlements between Florida and their outpost in what is 
now Texas, and constantly preyed upon ships from Louisi- 
ana. In retaliation the French attacked and captured Pen- 
sacola twice. 

Settlement of the Mississippi Valley. — The French be- 
gan the settlement of the Mississippi Valley at two widely 
separated points at about the same time, with a prospect of 




Sugar Making in Louisiana about 1720 

commerce with the Spanish in the Southwest and to guard 
the approach to the vast regions claimed by France. The 
fertile prairies of southern Illinois were fast being settled 
with farmers from the St. Lawrence region. Kaskaskia 
and Cahokia were becoming the centers of a wheat-growing 
region so productive that it was called the "Garden of New 
France." Farther south Bienville, in 1717, founded New 
Orleans, which soon became the seat of government for all 
settlements below the Ohio River, and the metropolis of 
the Mississippi Valley. By 1721 the population numbered 
five thousand whites and two thousand negroes. 

France first in the heart of the New World. — France 



90 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



had forestalled England in the heart of the New World. 
Like links in a chain French forts stretched from the St. 
Lawrence, along the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi 




New Orleans in 1719 



From an old print 



to the Gulf. The English were hemmed in between the At- 
lantic and the Appalachians before the colonists knew what 
rich lands lay just over the mountains beyond their frontier 
settlements. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. Why did not Spain follow up the discoveries of De Soto in the 

Mississippi Valley? Where and when was the first permanent 
Spanish settlement made in what is now the United States? 
What was the chief interest of the Spanish in the New 
World ? 

2. Why did not the English explore the Mississippi Valley and 

plant settlements there before the French came? Do you 
know why the Iroquois Indians were friendly to the French 
and hostile to the English? 

3. Write in your note-book a description of the; explorations of 

Marquette in the Mississippi Valley. Write also an account of 
the intrepid T.a Salle. 

4. Draw a map in your note-book, sketching the early French route 

from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi. In general the 
French explorers got along with the Indians better than the 
English did. Why? 



FRENCH DOMINATION OF MISSISSIPPI BASIN 91 

5. State clearly the chief differences between the motives and pur- 

poses of the Frenchmen and the Englishmen in planting set- 
tlements in the New World. 

6. What was the basis of the French claim to Louisiana? What 

parts of the present United States did Louisiana embrace in 
its greatest extent? 

7. When was the city of New Orleans founded, and by whom ? 

Your text states that the French began the settlement of the 
Mississippi Valley at two widely separated points. What were 
these points, and why was this plan followed? 

8. How do you account for the fact that France forestalled Eng- 

land in the heart of the New World? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. The lives of the following men: Clianiplain, Joliet, Marquette. 

La Salle, Bienville. 

2. The founding of New Orleans. 

REFERENCES 

1. McMurry's P{o)u'crs of the jfisstssippi Valley , Chapters I and II. 

2. Baldwin's The Discovery of the Old Northwest, pp. 131-180. 

3. Hart's Source Book, pp. 96-98. 

4. Parkman's La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West, 

pp. 40-46. 51, 64, 73-74, 201-221, 275-288, 396-408. Note. The 
teacher will find Parkman a veritable treasure house of in- 
formation on the events of this chapter. 




Coins Made in 1721 for the French 
Colonies 



CHAPTER IX 

ENGLAND'S EUROPEAN WARS AND HER 
AMERICAN COLONIES 

Traditional enmity of England for France. — England 
to-day has a single possession in Europe — Gibraltar, the 
rocky promontory near the tip end of the Spanish peninsula. 
For centuries before the time of Elizabeth, English kings 
had possessed provinces in France, and the French sov- 
ereigns were continually striving to wrest these lands from 
them. During the reign of Queen Mary (Elizabeth's prede- 
cessor) the French had seized England's last foothold — 
Calais on the Strait of Dover. Wrath and shame over these 
losses grew into such bitter hatred that for two centuries 
England regarded France as her natural enemy. 

Since the dwindling of Spanish power following the de- 
feat of the "Invincible Armada," France had become the 
richest and most powerful nation of Europe. By the close 
of the seventeenth century not only had she hewn out an 
empire for herself in America, as we have seen, but also was 
developing valuable colonies in other parts of the world. 

The balance of power. — From the time the Dutch se- 
cured their independence (1648) to the downfall of Napoleon 
(1815), Europe was involved in a series of wars most of 
which were occasioned by an effort to preserve the "balance 
of power." Whenever a nation becomes so powerful as to 
threaten the independence of its neighbors, the latter natur- 
ally form an alliance for self-protection. The checking of 
the power of the mightier nation by this alliance so that it is 
no longer a menace to their independence is called restoring 
the l)alance of power. 

92 



ENGLAND'S EUROPEAN WARS 93 

During the reign of Charles II, Holland was invaded by 
Louis XIV, King of France. The brave young prince, Will- 
iam of Orange, persuaded the Dutch to cut the dikes and 
flood the country. After he had saved his country. Prince 
William, in order to preserve the balance of power, formed 
the Grand Alliance of Holland, Spain, Sweden, Denmark 
and other powers against Louis. England was expected to 
join, but was prevented by Charles, who was secretly paid 
by the French king to make war on Holland. 

The "glorious revolution." — James II was a foolish 
tyrant and a Roman Catholic. His subjects were greatly 
aroused by his efforts to rule independent of Parliament, 
and to restore Catholic worship. In an effort to gain their 
support he proclaimed an edict setting aside all laws against 
Dissenters and Roman Catholics, thus putting an end to re- 
ligious persecution in England. But the nation would not 
bear the rule of such a tyrant. Before he had been on the 
throne three years leading men besought Prince William to 
come over from Llolland with his army and save England. 

Deserted by his forces, soon after William arrived in 
England James fled to France. Parliament then declared 
the throne vacant, and insisted that as representatives of the 
people it should decide who the sovereign should be. The 
crown was oft'ered to Prince William and to Mary, his wife, 
and in 1689 they became joint sovereigns of England. 

King William's War. — Louis XIV not only harbored 
James in France, but later assisted him in an attempt to re- 
gain his throne. This furnished England, in 1689, an ex- 
cuse for joining the Grand Alliance and declaring war on 
France. As loyal subjects and having a personal grievance 
against New France growing out of boundary disputes, the 
English in America took up the fight. 

A New England fleet raided the coast of Acadia and cap- 
tured Port Royal (now Annapolis Royal). New England 
merchants fitted out armed vessels called privateers, to 



94 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



which the colonial governors issued "letters of marque" 
permitting them to prey on the enemy's commerce. The 
French, with the aid of their Indian allies, attacked and 

burned frontier settle- 
ments in New York, 
New Hampshire and 
Massachusetts. 

After both France and 
England had sustained 
several severe defeats in 
Europe, the war was 
concluded by the Treaty 
of Ryswick (1697), in 
which Louis recognized 
William's and Mary's 
right to the English 
throne, and the English 
returned Port Royal to 
France. 

Queen Anne's War. 




Cape Breton Is 
Louisburg 



Halifax 



Scale of miles 



— William and Louis 
Acadia and Cape Breton Island both regarded the Peace 

of Ryswick as merely a truce. On the death of the child- 
less king of Spain, a grandson of Louis fell heir to the 
throne. Louis now proceeded to proclaim that France 
would be treated as the most favored nation in its relations 
with the Spanish-American colonies, which meant that 
French merchants and sea captains would enjoy privileges 
not shared by their English and Dutch competitors. A final 
occasion for war was added when Louis took up the cause 
of the Pretender. The son of James II was so called be- 
cause many believed that he was only an adopted or pre- 
tended son. The story ran that James, hated by his people, 
had adopted an infant smuggled into the palace, in the hope 
of winning favor for the sake of the little prince. Louis 



ENGLAND'S EUROPEAN WARS 



95 



recognized this prince, on the death of James II, as the 
lawful heir to the EngHsh throne. WilHam was preparing 
for war when death overtook him and Queen Anne began 
her rule. 

The conflict was not long delayed. Known as the "War 
of the Spanish Succession," it raged from 1702 to 1713. In 
America the colonists raided and plundered one another's 
settlements as before. Port Royal and the adjacent Acadian 
coast were seized by the English ; the South Carolinians tried 




From an old print 



Port Royal 



The old fortress is now preserved as a Canadian national park 



to take St. Augustine and the Spaniards attacked Charles- 
ton ; bands of French and Indians again burned and mas- 
sacred along the frontier. After France and Spain had 
been beaten on many battle-fields, the war was brought to 
an end by the Treaty of Utrecht. The Spanish king re- 
tained his throne, but France ceded to England Acadia 
(which now became Nova Scotia), Newfoundland and any 
claim she had to the Hudson Bay region. 

The accession of George I. — The death of Queen Anne 
(1714) was an event of much importance to the English. 
Seven years before England and Scotland had joined to 
form the "United Kingdom of Great Britain," and it had 



96 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

been settled that the crown was to descend to the German 
princess, Sophia of Hanover, granddaughter of James I, 
and to her heirs, if Protestant. 

There were now two parties in England, the Tories or 
Conservatives and the Whigs or Liberals. The Tories fa- 
vored the claims of the Pretender, while the Whigs sup- 
ported the "Act of Succession." The Whigs won, for since 
the Pretender was a Roman Catholic, he was ineligible. The 
crown was accordingly bestowed on Sophia's son, George I. 

The new king had never learned to speak the English 
language, nor did he take the trouble to learn it during the 
thirteen years he ruled England. The result was that he 
was compelled to govern through ministers and to content 
himself with signing such papers as were placed before him 
by them. Since Parliament levied the taxes, it controlled 
the nation's purse strings, and could indirectly block any 
legislation proposed by the king. It was during George's 
reign that the policy was adopted of selecting the ministers 
from the party which happened to be in the majority in 
Parliament. This in reality made the government respon- 
sible to Parliament instead of the king. 

The settlement of Georgia. — Between the Savannah 
River and Florida was a stretch of unsettled land. Spain 
still claimed the region and was using it to rob the Caro- 
linians of much of their trade with the Indians in the back- 
country. King George, however, regarded it as the prop- 
erty of the English Crown, and bestowed on it the name 
Georgia, in honor of himself. 

England still imprisoned persons for debt and often kept 
them in jail for years while their families suffered. James 
Oglethorpe, a kind-hearted member of Parliament, induced 
that body to investigate the condition of the poor of the 
kingdom. He conceived the idea of founding a colony in 
America where these unfortunates might begin life anew, 
and persuaded many noblemen and clergymen to subscribe 



i:x(;l„\xi)'s 1':l"Ropkax wars 



97 




Oglethorpe 



to tlie project. A charier was secured from the king, grant- 
ing to him and his associates as "trustees for estabhshing 
the colony of Georgia in xA.merica" all the territory lying be- 
tween the Altamaha and Savannah Rivers and extending 
westward from their head waters 
to the South Sea. 

Object of the colony of Georgia. 
— The prime object was to give re- 
lief to the king's poor subjects ; 
Oglethorpe showed, how^ever, there 
would be an advantage to the king- 
dom in the location of this colon}-. 
As a frontier settlement it could 
])rotect the Carolinas from hostile 
Indians and from runaway slaves 
who frequently were armed by the 
Spaniards and sent to attack outly- 
ing plantations. 

The charter prohibited negro slavery and the sale of rum. 
Small farms were encouraged and landholding limited to 
five hundred acres. The colonists were to have no part in 
the government for twenty-one years. .\11 religions except 
the Roman Catholic were to be tolerated. 

Character of the Georgia colonists. — In 1733 Ogle- 
thorpe brought over thirty-five families and founded a set- 
tlement near the mouth of the Savannah River to which 
was given the name Savannah. Friendly relations were 
established with the Indians from whom Oglethorpe pur- 
chased a large tract of land. Unthrifty by nature.' the 
debtors made poor colonists. The next year, however, the 
trustees sent over some persecuted Austrian Protestants, 
who located at Ebenezer, and this became a prosperous set- 
tlement. The fertile soil attracted other Austrians, as well 
as a considerable number of Scotch Highlanders, who set- 
tled near the Spanish border, and a few Jews and Swiss. 



98 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



The proprietors had intended the colonists to devote 
themselves to vine growing and silk-worm culture, so that 
a part of the wine and silk England consumed might be ob- 
tained from within the Empire. As these industries did not 
prove as profitable as had been hoped, the colonists soon 
drifted into rice growing. Belief that white labor could not 
endure the rice swamps caused a demand for the removal of 









1 rum an old pi mt 



Savannah about 1740 



the restrictions against slavery. So great was the dissatis- 
faction of his colonists that Oglethorpe in disgust returned 
to England. Later this restriction, as well as others which 
were objectionable, was repealed, and Georgia became a 
region of large estates worked by slaves. In 1752 the 
trustees surrendered their charter and the colony was made 
a royal province. 

King George's War. — In 1740 there were two claim- 
ants to the Austrian throne, and to preserve the balance of 
power the nations of Europe settled the succession by war. 
As on previous occasions, England was opposed by France 
and Spain. After five years the "War of the Austrian Sue- 



EUROPEAN POSSESSIONS \ , .;V 

EASTERN' NORTH AMERICA. > / 'y- \ 
at tkd Outbreak of the Frenck Wr \ ,-'' "^ 
nncJ Indian V 111- -l/SS jC ' /• 

^ ^ - '^. V— r^ J^ 





ENGLAND'S EUROPEAN WARS 99 

cession" spread to America. Daring New England militia- 
men landed on the rocky shore of Cape Breton Island and 
aided by a British fleet captured Louisburg. This fortress, 
which was considered impregnable, guarded the entrance to 
the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the great river beyond. To 
the chagrin of the colonists, their hard-won prize was re- 
stored to France by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle three 
years later (1748). 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. What was meant in Europe by the phrase "balance of power"? 

Has the Great War of 1914-1918 upset the balance of power 
theory? Explain your answer. 

2. What was the twofold purpose of Oglethorpe in planting the 

English colony of Georgia? Oglethorpe's charter prohibited 
negro slavery and the importation of rum. Why was Ogle- 
thorpe's opposition to rum and slavery unpopular? 

3. Was religious tolerance practised in the Georgia colony? Prove 

your answer. State the ways in which the settlement of 
Georgia differed from that of the other Southern Colonies. 
4- Prepare in your note-book a table of the thirteen English col- 
onies in America, using the following outline: (a) name of 
colony; (b) date of settlement; (c) place of settlement; 
(d) by whom settled; (e) original form of government. How 
many years elapsed between the settlement at Jamestown and 
the settlement at Savannah ? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. The Revolution that placed William and Mary on the English 

throne is called the Glorious Revolution. Find as many rea- 
sons as you can why it is so called. 

2. James Oglethorpe, the man and his work. 

REFERENCES 

1. Fiske's Old Virginia and Her Neighbors, Vol. II, pp. 308-316, 

322-324, 333-336. 

2. Fiske's History of the United States, Chapter IX. (To the 

teacher : This chapter in Fiske's is valuable because it focal- 
izes the attention of the pupil on the salient points of the 
struggle between England and France which lasted for three- 
quarters of a century.) 



CHAPTER X 



THE DOWNFALL OF FRANCE IN AMERICA 



Causes of the Seven Years' War. — Although the real 
cause of England's part in the War of the Austrian Suc- 
cession had been jealousy of the growing importance of the 
French colonies and commercial rivalry, the peace of Aix- 
la-Chapelle left these questions unsettled. Spain in the 

decline of her power could 
barely hold what colonies she 
had. and England and France 
were free to struggle for what 
Avas left in America. Greater yet 
were the opportunities in India. 
This country had recently broken 
u]) into small states and the 
French,' in hope of securing ad- 
vantage for themselves, were in- 
citing quarrels and petty wars 
among the native rulers. In one 
of these the Bengalese went so 
far as to raid the British trad- 
ing-])0st at Calcutta. They cap- 
tured one hundred and forty-six 
prisoners, who were cast into 
a prison called the "Black Hole." 
Crowded into a space not more 
than twenty feet square, the 
next morning twenty-three were 
100 




Obelisk Marking tlic Site 

of the Black Hole of 

Calcutta 



THE DOWNFALL OF FRANClr: IN AMERICA 101 

barely able to crawl fordi. fhc otbers had died from suffo- 
cation. Great was the wrath of the British for the French ! 
In America the English had kept to the seaboard, while 
the French had roamed the interior. England claimed the 
country clear to the Pacific, and several colonial charters 
read, "Westward to the South Sea." France, on the other 
hand, not only claimed the Mississippi Basin, but also the 
northern part of 
New England and 
much of western 
New York, Penn- d 

sylvania and Mary- f 

11 ^'^' 

land. r 

Rivalry in the 4 
Ohio Valley. — By | ^ 
the middle of the \ 
eighteenth century \ ■ 
the more adventur- \^: 
ous of the English 
colonists were mak- 
ing their way 
through the passes -^, 

in the Appalachians ^"-^ . *' - \^.' 

to the region be- f"' ''■-■-. 

vond. The colonial I 

authorities encour- \ 

aged them to make : 

settlements in the | • 

''wildernesses of the i 

Dark Country," as 
a protection against 
the Indians. France 
was alarmed by this 

"invasion," as she ^ r .1 t j -ni t^ • 1 , 

One of the Leaden Plates Buried by 
termed it, of the Celoron de Bienville in 1749 



102 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 






Ohio Valley. And well might she be, for were the advances 
to continue. New PVance would be split in two by an English 
wedge, and the direct route from the St. Lawrence to Lou- 
isiana would be cut off. 

In 1749 the governor of New France sent out an expedi- 
tion headed by Celoron de Bienville to take formal posses- 
sion of the whole valley. He was to bury small leaden plates 

inscribed with the French 
coat-of-arms all along his 
route and to warn off all 
trespassers. Not an English 
settler withdrew, but some 
London merchants and Vir- 
ginian gentlemen immediate- 
ly formed the "Ohio Com- 
pany." Their purpose was 
to found a colony in the 
northern part of the valley, 
and to protect it they pro- 
posed to build a fort at the 
so-called "forks of the 
Ohio," where Pittsburgh 
now stands. 

To enforce their claims 

the French began the con- 

a chain of small 

Lake Erie to 

of the Ohio" 




Scale of miles 



struction of 

forts from 

the "forks 

(1753). 
War begins in America. 

— Aroused by this bold in- 
trusion of the French on lands included in the grant to Vir- 
ginia, Governor Dinwiddle, of Virginia, was instructed to 
make a formal protest. In November, 1753, he despatched 
a letter to the commandant at Fort Le Boeuf demanding that 



French Posts between Lake 

Ontario and the "Forks of 

the Ohio" 



THE DOWNFALL OF FRANCE IN AMERICA 103 

the French forces be withdrawn at once from the Ohio coun- 
try. As messenger, a young Virginia surveyor named 
George Washington was employed. Though but twenty-one 
years old, Washington was selected because he was known to 
be clear-headed, fearless and experienced in the ways of 
the wilderness. With a half-dozen leather-clad companions 
he started. By the time he reached the mountains winter 
had set in, and several weeks' hard tramping through snow 
were required before they reached their destination, one hun- 
dred twenty miles north of the "Forks." Although he was 
treated with courtesy by the commandant, Washington bore 
back to Governor Dinwiddie a curt denial of Virginia's 
claims to the Ohio country, and a refusal to vacate the region. 
Early the next spring men were sent from Virginia to build 
the proposed fort at the "Forks" ; but the French drove them 
away and completed the work for themselves, naming it Fort 
Duquesne. Washington was on the way with a hundred and 
fifty militiamen to garrison it when news of the disaster 
reached him. He halted in a little valley in the mountains 
called Great Meadows and threw up entrenchments. Here 
he was soon attacked and forced to surrender. 

This little skirmish, wholly a local affair and taking place 
while the two nations were at peace, was the first encounter 
between the French and English in the Seven Years' \\'ar, 
one of the most momentous struggles of modern times. 

The Albany congress. — Although throughout the whole 
of colonial history the colonists were very jealous of their 
own rights and constantly quarreling with their neighbors 
over alleged infringements, there were times when common 
danger forced them to consider some kind of union. As far 
back as 1643 the four colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Ply- 
mouth, New Haven and Connecticut, had formed a confed- 
eration called the "United Colonies of New England," for 
mutual protection against the Dutch on the south, the In- 
dians on the west, the French on the north and their own 



104 



OUR COUNTRVS HISTORY 



king. This confederation lasted for over forty years and 
did much to carry New England successfully through the 
great Indian uprisings of 1675-1677, which ended with the 
death of King Philip and the establishment of English 
supremacy throughout that region. 

When the colonists saw, in 1754, that war was imminent 
and understood its significance — whether the eighty-five 

thousand settlers of New France 
or the million and a half English 
colonists were to determine the 
future of America — they felt the 
need of concerted action. A con- 
gress was called to meet at Al- 
l)any for the purpose of devising 
means to secure the cooperation 
of the Indians. Benjamin Frank- 
lin, editor of the Pennsylvania 
Gazette, was one of its members. 
For some time Franklin had 
been trying to arouse the people 
to the need of union, and only 
recently had illustrated an article 
in his paper by a drawing of a snake cut into pieces, each 
representing a colony. Underneath was the motto, UNITE 
OR DIE. 

Franklin drafted a plan of union and the congress adopted 
it. When submitted to the colonies for ratification it was 
rejected on the ground that it was not sufficiently demo- 
cratic; George II refused his approval, because, as he said, 
"It is but a stepping stone to the independence of the col- 
onies." 

Beginning of the French and Indian War. — Two years 
later (1756) the Seven Years' War was declared. Austria, 
Russia, France and Saxony were pitted against Prussia and 




Benjamin Franklin 



THE DOWNFALL OF FRANCE IN AMERICA 105 

England. In America the conflict was called the French and 
Indian War, and was fought out in colonial fashion. The 
pioneers were defending their homes regardless of what 
might be lost or won in Europe, on the seas and in far-away 
India. 

In 1755 General Braddock, a brave but conceited officer, 
was sent over with a force of British troops to take com- 
mand and drive the French out of the Ohio Valley. He set 
out from Alexandria with several hundred British regulars, 
two hundred Virginia militiamen commanded by George 
Washington and a few loyal Indians. The narrow road they 
cut through the forest may yet be traced in some places. 
When almost in sight of Fort Duquesne the company was 
attacked from ambush in a ravine by the French and 
their Algonquin allies. Washington had counseled Brad- 
dock to have his men dodge behind trees and rocks 
when attacked in the wilderness. The British general 
scorned any such tactics and ordered his soldiers to fight 
in the open and in close formation. The savages fell upon 
them with such fury that many were killed and Braddock 
himself was borne away mortally wounded. The steady 
nerve and coolness of W^ashington and his "raw militiamen" 
saved the remnant in retreat. In waiting his mother of this 
fight, he said : "Luckily I escaped without a wound, though 
I had four bullet holes in my coat and two horses shot 
under me." 

The exile of the Acadians. — Although France had 
ceded Acadia to Great Britain at the close of Queen Anne's 
War, the French inhabitants had not become reconciled to 
their new government and refused to take the oath of al- 
legiance. Fearing a general uprising, or at least that th£ 
Acadians would give aid to France in the war, the British 
commander at Halifax decided upon their removal as the 
safest policy. Over seven thousand of them were ordered 



106 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



from their homes, driven aboard ships and scattered among 
the colonies. Some of the Acadians eventually reached 
Louisiana, where their descendants yet live. 

The policy of William Pitt. — The first tw^o years of the 
Seven Years' War were gloomy ones for England, for, ex- 
cept upon the sea, her ene- 
mies were uniformly success- 
ful. Indignation ran so high 
that the king was forced to 
form a new ministry. Will- 
iam Pitt, an able, self-confi- 
dent statesman, was ambitious 
to make England mistress of 
a world-wide empire of which 
America would form the most 
valuable part. He believed 
that this could be done by 
men, money and ships, and 
that "America must be con- 
quered in Germany." A well- 
trained and equipped army 
was sent to America with orders to take every French 
stronghold. Relying on privateers to sweep the seas clear 
of French ships, Pitt sent the English men-of-war to block- 
ade the ports of New France and keep out the supplies that 
disloyal New England traders otherwise would have sold 
the enemy. 

Fall of New France. — W^illiam Pitt roused the fighting 
spirit of Englishmen everywhere. In America the colonists 
captured Fort Duquesne and renamed it Fort Pitt, and the 
same year (1758) saw the destruction of Louisburg by a 
combined naval and land attack. In 1759 Fort Niagara, the 
key to the Great Lakes, fell into the hands of the English ; 
and they seized Crown Point and Fort Ticonderoga, thus 




William Pitt 



THE DOWNFALL OF FRANCE IN AMERICA 



107 



gaining control of the route to the St. Lawrence by way of 
the Hudson and Lake Champlain. 

Only two more strongholds now remained to the French 
— Quebec and Montreal. Quebec was considered impreg- 
nable. It consisted of two parts — one near the river and the 
other on the summit of an almost perpendicular clifif. The 
bulk of the fortifications were around the lower town, for 
the French relied largely on its situation for the defense of 




The British Soldiers Ascending to the Plains of Abraham 



the upper. For the reduction of Quebec the British brought 
up nine thousand troops led by General Wolfe, a skilful and 
highly trained officer. The French general Montcalm, de- 
scribed by Wolfe as a "wary old fellow," refused to come 
out from behind his fortification and fight it out on the 
plains just below the city. 

The heights looked inaccessible, but an Indian informed 
the general of a path up the side of the clifif. One dark 
night in September the daring commander led four thou- 
sand picked troops up this steep path to the plateau above 



108 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

the upper town, which is still called the "Plains of Abra- 
ham." At daybreak the French were amazed to see far 
above them the enemy drawn up in battle array. Mont- 
calm immediately led forth his forces and a fierce battle was 
begun. Both commanders were mortally wounded. As Gen- 
eral Wolfe was being borne to the rear one of his officers 
said, "See them run !" "Who run ?" inquired the general. 
On being told that the enemy were in flight, he exclaimed. 
"Now God be praised, I die happy," and fell back dead. 
Within a few days the great fortress was handed over, and 
the next year Montreal fell. With the surrender of the 
small inland posts the whole of New France was under 
Fnglish control. 

The effect of the war. — ^Meanwhile a new sovereign 
had ascended the Spanish throne, and for family reasons 
had formed an alliance with France against England. The 
F.nglish retaliated by sending military forces to capture Ha- 
vana and Manila, the capital of the Philippines. 

On February 10, 1763, the various warring powers con- 
cluded a treaty of peace at Paris which, among other things, 
provided : 

(1) France should cede to Great Britain Cape Breton 
Island and all of Canada and that part of Louisiana lying 
between the Mississippi River and the Appalachian Moun- 
tains. 

(2) France was to retain that portion of Louisiana west 
of the Mississippi and New Orleans on its eastern bank. 
She also retained St. Pierre and JMiquelon, two small islands 
south of Newfoundland, that her fishermen might have a 
place to cure their fi.sh. 

(3) Spain should cede Florida to Great Britain in ex- 
change for the recently captured cities of Manila and 
Havana. 

Before long, however, the Spanish flag flew over New 
Orleans, for late in 1762 Louisiana had been ceded to Spain 
by a secret treaty. 



THE DOWNFALL OF FRANCE IN AMI'.RICA 109 

The Treaty of Paris had far-reaching effects. New 
France had been CathoHc ; now, of course, HIce the other 
British colonies, it would enjoy religious toleration and be 
open to settlement by Protestants. The Algonquin Indians 
would no longer be incited by French officials to raid English 
frontier settlements, and migration to the Ohio Valley would 
increase rapidly. 

The British Government was jubilant. One of the min- 
isters declared that "the country had never seen so glorious 
a war or so honorable a peace." One person only — a far- 
sighted Frenchman, Vergennes — seems to have foreseen the 
eventual outcome. He wrote : "England will, ere long, re- 
pent of having removed the only check that could keep her 
colonies in awe. They no longer stand in need of her pro- 
tection. She will call upon them to contribute toward sup- 
porting the burdens they have helped to bring on her ; and 
they will answer by striking ofif all dependence." 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

L The traditional enmity of England for France led her to engage 
France in four wars, the first three being merely a prelude to 
the final conflict known as the French and Indian War. Write 
in you note-book the names of these four intercolonial wars 
and the dates of each. Write in one column the European 
name of the war, and in another column the name by which 
the conflict was known in America. How many years was it 
from the beginning of the first conflict to the end of the last 
one? 

2. By what right did the English colonies claim possession of the 

Mississippi Basin? By what right did the French lay claim to 
possession of the valley? Which claim do you believe was the 
more reasonable? 

3. What was the "Ohio Company" ? What was the purpose of this 

company? 

4. In its greatest extent what part of the present United States did 

New France embrace? If you desire to know the relative 
strength of England and France in the final struggle for su- 
premacy, you will find a good answer in the first volume of 
Francis Parkman's Montcalm and IVolfc, pp. 5-16. 



110 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

5. Relate the story of George Washington's errand for Governor 

Dinwiddie, of Virginia. Your text states that the Seven Years' 
War was one of the most momentous struggles of modern 
times. Find evidence which proves that statement. 

6. What was the Albany Congress? Why was not Franklin's plan 

of union at this congress accepted by King George II? Why 
was it rejected by the colonies? 

7. Why was General Braddock's expedition a failure? Do you be- 

lieve England did right in scattering the French settlers of 
Acadia throughout the English colonies? Give reason for 
your answer. Read Longfellow's poem called "Evangeline." 
Does this poem present fact or fiction regarding the exile of 
the Acadians ? 

8. Write in your note-book a description of the battle on the 

"Plains of Abraham" and the fall of Quebec. 

9. Learn definitely the terms of the treaty of peace made at Paris 

which marked the downfall of France in America. What were 
some of the most important effects of this treaty? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. General Braddock and the lesson to be learned from his life. 

2. Indian methods of warfare. 

REFERENCES 

1. Hart's Source Book, pp. 103-107. 

2. Hart's Camps and Firesides of the Revolution, pp. 138-141. 

3. Parkman's Montcalm and Wolfe, Vol. I, pp. 204-226, 234-284: 

Vol. 11, pp. 259-297, 408-412. 

4. Fiske's New France and New England, pp. 258-278, 279-293, 294- 

325, 326-359. 

England Wins in the Struggle for Supremacy in 
North America 

I. The Revolution in England. 

A. The struggle between the king and Parliament. 

1. The Cavaliers and Roundheads have war. 

2. The king executed in 1649, and the Common weal'' 
established. 

3. In 1660 Charles II becomes king. 

B. The effects of the revolution in the colonies. 

1. The conquest of New Netherlands. 

2. Troubles in New England that resulted from i:yin 
pathy with the regicides. 



THE DOWNFALL OF FRANCE IN AMERICA 111 

C. The settlement of Pennsylvania. 

1. The Quakers came into prominence during tlie Com- 
monwealth. 

2. Their faith. 

3. William Penn and his grant. 

4. The founding of Philadelphia. 

5. The Great Law. 

II. France Seeks to Dominate the Mississippi Basin. 

A. The activities of the French Catholics in the New World. 

B. The French settlements in America. 

1. Those on the Great Lakes. 

2. Settlements in the Mississippi Valley. 

3. Settlements along the Gulf. 

C. French international law held that she owned all terri- 

tory drained by the rivers discovered by Frenchmen. 

II. The European Wars and the Inter-Colonial Wars. 

A. The struggle between France and England in the Old 
World. 

B. The struggle taken up in America. 

C. King William's War. 

1. Frontier settlements attacked. 

2. Port Royal captured. 

3. The Treaty of Ryswick. 

D. Queen Anne's War. 

1. The Treaty of Utrecht. 

E. King George's War. 

1. Louisburg captured. 

2. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. • 

[V. France Driven Out of America. 

A. The Seven Years' War. 

1. The causes. 

2. Braddock's defeat. Washington's advice. 

3. The Acadians exiled. 

4. The great work of William Pitt. 

5. The fall of Quebec. 

B. The results of the war. 

1. The terms of the Treaty of Paris in 1763. 



CHAPTER XI 
SOCIAL LIFE IN THE COLONIES 

Divisions of society. — The early settlers brought their 
ideas of social distinctions with them from the Old World. 
Servants were looked down upon because they were ser- 
vants and, together with the extremely poor and improvi- 
dent called "poor whites" in the South, were at the bottom 
of the social scale. Ignorant and often lacking in ambition, 
they frequently became public charges when not able to 
work because of sickness, old age, or lack of employment. 
Above them came the middle class — mechanics, shopkeepers 
and small farmers. Industrious, thrifty and independent, 
these were the true pioneers of our country. They toiled 
long hours that their children might have better opportu- 
nities than their own had been. At the toj) there was a small 
class — the "blue-blooded" aristocracy of the colonies. To be- 
long to it one must have family, education or wealth. Here 
were found the officials, lawyers, ministers, physicians, the 
large planters of the South, the patroons of New York, and 
the great merchants and ship owners of the seacoast towns. 

No social mingling of classes. — These three classes met 
one another respectfully in business relations, but there was 
no social mingling. Intermarriage with a lower class was 
looked upon as a disgrace. In churches and schools the seat- 
ing was strictly according to rank. One was expected to act 
with deference in the presence of his superiors. In rural 
communities the "common people" frequently remained out- 
side the church until the "quality folks" were seated. In 
some of the colonies the titles of "Mr." and "Mrs." were 

112 



SOCIAL LIFE IX THE COLONIES 



U3 



reserved for the upper classes, and ordinary persons were 
addressed as "Goodman" and "Goodwife." 

Home life. — Outside of the towns the buildings were 
almost entirely of logs. These were hewn from the trunks 
of trees and notchstl .- "^:^:sr_\ -^............,,. 

at the ends so as to fit "'::'._"^^^ZTl"^':""~-.i'^ •... 

together, the chinks 
between them being 
filled with a plaster 
made of mud and 
straw. With the in- 
troduction of saw- 
mills, weather-board- 
ing was sometimes 
added to the outside. 




A Typical Log Cabin 



The roof was usually of hand-split shingles. Window glass 
was rarely seen, oiled paper being used instead. 

Cooking and heating were accomplished by means of a 
huge fireplace, often occupying the whole side of the kitchen. 




Washington's Residence at Mount Vernon, Showing Kitchen 
to the Left and Covered Way Leading to It 



114 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

which also served as a general living-room. A roaring fire 
of six-foot logs made the settler's cabin a place of cheer on 
a cold winter night. In the Northern and Middle Colonies 
brick ovens, big enough to hold a dozen pies at one baking, 
were frequently built over these fireplaces. 

The residences of the well-to-do in the cities and of the 
rich planters in the South were of brick, stone, or sawed and 
planed lumber. They were usually large rectangular houses, 
two or three stories high, often with hip roof and many 
small window gables. A wide hall extended from front to 
back, with doors on each side opening into spacious rooms, 
filled with massive mahogany furniture, rich carpets, fine 
cut-glass and wafer-like china, all from over the seas. In the 
South, where the summers are long, porches and balconies 
afforded opportunity to enjoy the cool breezes. 

Home-made furniture. — The ordinary settler made his 
own "puncheon" furniture. Logs were split into slabs and 
by the insertion of legs it was easy to make tables, benches 
and stools. From the smoke-blackened rafters above hung 
strips of bacon, strings of dried fruit and bunches of savory 
herbs. Racks and shelves against the wall held the few 
wooden and pewter dishes. The floors of dirt or rough 
boards were kept clean by the pioneer housewife, and made 
more comfortable with braided rag mats. 

No modern lighting facilities. — The blazing logs in the 
fireplace gave out enough light for ordinary needs. Fur- 
ther illumination was secured by means of tallow candles 
and crude whale-oil lamps. Matches were unknown and 
the embers were carefully covered with ashes overnight. 
Should these by chance become extinguished the household 
was in consternation. If neighbors were near a shovelful 
of coals could be easily obtained ; but the isolated pioneer 
family had to fall back on sparks obtained from strik- 
ing flint with steel and caught by a bit of tinder on the 
hearth. 



SOCIAL LIFE IN THE COLONIES 115 

Dress and social customs, — There was a marked differ- 
ence in the clothing of the different classes. The poorer 
persons, especially in the country, had no clothing material 
except the skins of wild animals and home-made cloth. The 
men wore leather moccasins and breeches, and flannel shirts 
fitted closely at the waist and loose enough above to form a 
])ocket in which bulky articles could be carried. The middle- 
class women spun the flaxen thread and woolen yarn and 
wove them into linen and flannel for the family supply of 
clothing. Itinerant cobblers came once a year bringing their 
tools and stayed with the family until shoes enough were 
made to last another twelve months. 

The well-to-do vied with one another in the display of the 
latest London fashions — in their imported linens, laces, silks 
and velvets. Gaily flowered fabrics were in vogue. The 
colonial dames wore full skirts distended by wire hoops and 
flounced and draped with panniers, and narrow high-heeled 
shoes. Their hair was powdered and sometimes built over 
wire into a sort of tower on top of the head with clusters of 
curls over the ears. The correct attire for the gentlemen 
was a ruftled shirt, long-tailed velvet or satin coat, tight- 
fitting knee breeches, striped silk stockings, and low shoes 
with silver buckles. The hair had to be powdered and tied 
back in a queue under the three-cornered cocked hat of 
beaver felt. 

Amusement and entertainment.— Amusements differed 
greatly in dift'erent colonies. With the exception of the 
aristocracy of the large cities. New Englanders frowned 
upon merrymaking. Churchgoing was their principal diver- 
sion. Instead of card parties and dances the young people 
had to content themselves with house-raisings, quilting bees, 
singing schools, sleigh rides and corn-husking parties. The 
older women had no social life other than an occasional 
afternoon visit with a neighbor, spent in knitting and 
gossiping. 



116 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



In the Southern Colonies homes were farther apart and 
entertainment was formal. House-parties where the guests 
amused themselves by dancing and card playing were com- 
mon. Fox hunts, horse races, and cock fights also varied 
the monotony of the planter's idle moments. Hospitality 
was unstinted. No respectable traveler was refused shelter 
and food, and more likely than not he was made welcome to 
the best the house afforded. 




A Quilting Ree in Colonial Days 



■■rom an old print 



Weddings and funerals were important events. People 
would come many miles on horseback or afoot to see the 
bride "ofif" or to follow the dead to the burying-ground. 
The guests at a New England funeral always sat down to a 
feast afterward and were presented with such things as 
gloves, scarfs and rings. The Dutch of New York treated 
the company to bottles of wine. 

Shooting matches were popular everywhere. The pio- 
neers were good marksmen and many prided themselves on 
their ability to snuff a candle with their flintlock rifles with- 
out putting out the flame. There were several training days 
during the year when the men came together and were 



SOCIAL LIFE IX THE COLONIES 117 

trained in the art of war by old soldiers. After the drill, 
jumping, running, boxing and other athletic contests were 
held for the amusement of the crowd. 

Except in Puritan New England, Christmas was a day of 
merriment, especially among the Dutch, who introduced 
Santa Claus to delight the children. Thanksgiving Day, al- 
though celebrated with a long church service, was also a 
lime of good cheer. The stern Puritan gathered his family 
about the table loaded with good things to eat and drink — 
turkey, cranberry sauce, plum pudding, mince and pumpkin 
pies, nuts and cider — and became festive for once. 

The assemblies held their sessions during the winter 
months. This was the social session at the various capitals, 
and in the Southern Colonies it was customary for the 
planters to take their families there for the many functions. 
The ladies planned their costumes for the governor's recep- 
tion months ahead, as this was the greatest social event of 
the year and attended with all the pomp and ceremony of 
old England herself. 

Colonial religion. — Religious observance was strict in 
the colonies. In Puritan New England the people had made 
the venture across the Atlantic to find freedom of worship 
in the wilderness, and the other provinces had been settled 
more or less by the persecuted for conscience' sake. The 
colonial assemblies naturally reflected in their laws the deep 
religious convictions of the majority of settlers. Church 
attendance was compulsory in nearly all the colonies at some 
time in their history. In some there was an "established 
church" supported by taxes ; in others the ministers were 
paid by their congregations. Everywhere, but especially in 
New England, the ministers were highly influential. Be- 
cause of their education and character, their counsel was 
sought by even the governors. 

Five leading Protestant organizations. — In Maryland, 
Virginia and the Carolinas the established church 



118 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



was the Church of England (now Episcopal). In New 
Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut it was the In- 
dependent or Congregational. The Congregational ful- 
filled the Puritan idea of self-government, as each congre- 
gation controlled its own affairs. In the Middle Colonies 
the Presbyterian church had most members. Its doc- 
trine and policy were determined by assemblies composed 




Interior of the Bruton Parish Church at WilHamsburg, Virginia 
The large square pew at the left was occupied by the royal governor 



of ministers and laymen. Two churches — Baptist and 
Methodist — were important in the settling of the frontier. 
In America the Baptist first appeared in Rhode Island and 
spread slowly to other colonies. The Methodist originated 
in England (1740). Two brothers, John and Charles Wes- 
ley, having tried vainly for a long time to reform the Church 
of England, established a new worship called "Methodism" 
as a means of satisfying the spiritual needs of the great 
mass of common people. 

Roman Catholics and Quakers, — Scattered through the 



SOCIAL LIFK IN THE COLONIES 119 

colonies were many other small sects. The Catholics were 
weak even in Maryland. The Quakers in Rhode Island, 
Pennsylvania and New Jersey made no effort to increase 
their numbers. Neither did the Dutch Reformed church 
in New York. German immigration brought the Mennon- 
ites, a sect resembling the Quakers in plainness of attire 
and abhorrence of worldliness. From Austria had come the 
Moravians, who built their community houses in Pennsyl- 
vania and sent their brethren into the valleys of the South- 
west to found settlements and schools. 

Church service. — The Sabbath Day began at sunset 
Saturday and lasted twenty-four hours. Shops and inns 
were kept closed and there was no loitering in the streets. 
The hours of Sunday were mostly occupied with worship, 
for there was a morning and afternoon service. The ser- 
mons often lasted two hours, as ministers took pride in their 
length. 

The colonial divines were men of dignity, and the lofty 
pulpits (seven or eight feet high) from which they spoke 




H» 



A Warming-Pan 

Live coals were put in the jian and llien tin.' cover was shut 

added to the authority of their words. The straight high- 
backed pews were without cushions. Churches were not 
heated and in winter dogs were sometimes brought along 
to lie at their master's feet and keep them warm. Women 
and children were kept from freezing by the use of heated 
bricks and warming-pans containing glowing charcoal. 
Where slaves were owned, special galleries or seats were set 
aside for them. 



120 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



^'r'rw 



>ie&£roJ 



IftiTUVv/MVi 



The Puritans employed an official to see that the congre- 
gation kept awake. Armed with a long pole tipped with a 
rabbit's foot he kept watch and lightly tickled the ear or 
cheek of any woman or girl who might be falling asleep. 
Drowsy men and boys were aroused by a tap with the hard 
end of the pole. 

Colonial education. — None of the colonies had any free 
public schools, as we have to-day. Parents who could afford 
it paid fees for their children. The first school in America 
was established in 1619 at Henrico 
City, Virginia, to instruct the Indians. 
Two years later, a so-called public 
school was started at Charles City. In 
Massachusetts, the General Court or- 
dered (1647) that any town of fifty 
families should maintain a school, but 
this law was not strictly enforced. 
These schools were for boys only ; 
girls had to depend on the "dame 
schools," until later when seminaries 
were founded. 

In. the South the rich planters em- 
ployed tutors for their children and 
when the boys were ready for college 
they were often sent to the great Eng- 
lish universities. For this reason and 
because the settlers lived far apart there were few public 
schools. Although Governor Berkeley said, "I thank God 
there are no free schools in Virginia," the clergy were 
always ready to helji the cause of education. Wherever 
they could, they gathered together the children of the pio- 
neers for instruction sufficient to read the Bible and learn 
the catechism. 

Colonial schoolhouses. — Colonial schoolhouses were 
mere log cabins with fireplaces and oiled paper windows. 



jVtkH>i/bai> mU Mini 
|*e fc 1(1^ »c 1 1" « tl to I 

tank Vtmttia^ ndu, «« a nwi 

OiUitP«.b«.iiihiAtnh 

|WiUbe i.^n«onE-rfth,«»lun':j 

|Omi< (rtfp»i» »£/'u;' 01 : *ini j 

V»<J • ftftt mioTcnwut'wr.Wii j 

Kver »i from tm, Jnn 



A Horn Book 
By this device colonial 
children learned tc read 



SOCIAL LIFE IN THE COLONIES 



121 



Their furniture consisted of rough benches without any 
desks. To make up for the shortness of the terms, which 
were usually only three or four months a year, daily sessions 
were long. In many districts the "masters" boarded around 
with the parents of their pupils, the length of stay in each 
family being determined by the number of children attend- 
ing school. Punishment was frequent and severe, the 
dunce cap and birch rod being supposed to maintain order 
and induce learning. 

School curriculum, — The three R's — "Reading, 'Riting 
and 'Rithmetic" — were taught and little else, except in 
Massachusetts grammar schools, where Latin was added. 
The best systems were found in New York and Pennsyl- 
vania. It was a great grievance with the Dutch that the 
Duke of York's governors failed to keep up the excellent 
system of schools they inherited. 

Colonial colleges. — By the time of the Revolution there 
were ten colleges in America. Harvard was the oldest, 
founded in 1636. 
Next came William 
and Mary at Will- 
iamsburg, Virginia, 
which was opened 
in 1693. These col- 
leges admitted boys 
as young as thirteen 
and offered a four- 
year course of study. 
Greek, Latin and 

Hebrew were well taught, as most of the students expected 
to enter the ministry. In respect to other studies, the college 
curriculum was not so thorough or complete as that of a 
modern high school. 

There were no trade schools and those who wished their 
bovs to become mechanics or artisans bound them out at 




I JJS. 




TfJ r>» W't [ r It 1 ,'i<^; ■ 



1 roiii au old print 

William and Mary College at 
Williamsburg, Virginia 



122 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



about fourteen years of age to master workmen. These ap- 
prentices, as they were then called, worked for their board 
and clothes during the seven years required to learn the 
trade. 

Colonial reading matter. — The Bible and a few other 
religious books constituted the library in the majority of 
colonial homes. Books were costly, for the type was set by 
hand and the printing was done on cumbersome presses with 
which only a few hundred impressions a day could be made. 
Charleston and a few other cities had libraries, but most 
of the books were owned by men of wealth and education. 
William Byrd, of Virginia, had a library of three thousand 
volumes imported from England, as were most books in 
colonial days. 

The New England Primer. — The first printing press in 
what is now the United States was set up at Harvard 
College in 1639. On this John Eliot printed his Indian 
Bible. Eliot was a Puritan minister who devoted his life 
to Christianizing the savages and reduced their language 




Timt cuts down all 
Both great ind fmil)^ 



Cr»dVxbe9ut(ouiW tfe 
Made David itc'i tiis 
Life. 

Wbalit in the Sra 
God't Voice obty. 

X$rx»t the great did 

die, 
And to mult you & I. 

Tautb forwird flips 
Dcttb foonell -oipk 

Zacbtut • ht 

Di4 climb t^e Tret 

tin Lord to fe«» 




MR. Jah/i Roiefs^ U'lmRer of 
tb© Gofpel in London,vfis 
UMartyr inQ;;W'»'-/sReign, 
and was burnt nSmhhftli.febru^ 
tfnvthe foarleentb,tj54HisWJfe. 
withjiine ftnaUChildien,ana one 

it 



Facsimile of Pages from the New England Primer 



SOCIAL LIFE IN THE COLONIES 



123 



to written form that he might convey to them the gospel. 
Later, printing presses were set up in all the 
colonies for the publication of broadsides, pamphlets, al- 
manacs, newspapers, and occasionally a religious or po- 
litical book. The most widely circulated book printed in 
the colonies was the Nciv England Primer (1690). This 
combined spelling with reading lessons consisting of the 
Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, an account of the 
burning at the stake in England of the Protestants, and the 
catechism. 

Colonial newspapers. — In 1704 the first colonial news- 
paper. The Boston Nexvs Letter, made its appearance. 
Charleston, New York, Baltimore and Philadelphia soon had 
newspapers of similar character — each a small sheet with a 
few hundred local readers. Almanacs had a wide circula- 
tion, especially among the rural population. Benjamin 
Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac, first issued in 1732, was 
the most popular. It was noteworthy for its proverbs 
and wise sayings, 
such as, "God helps 
them that help them- 
selves," "Honesty is 
the best policy," 
"Never put off till 
to-morrow what you 
can do to-day," "A 
penny saved is a 
l)enny earned," etc. 

Crime and pun- 
ishment. — The first 
colonial laws were 

ncraincf rlriitiL-fnnpct: Seel round the prison how the throng 

clgctiilbLUlUllKCUUt^^, Pj.^^ gygj.y quarter pour; 

i fll <=> n <=> c c onri ctk^It Some niourn with sympathising tongue! 

lUienebb anu SUCa The ruder babble roar. 

petty misconduct. -^ ... , „ ,-, k, 

racsimile or a Broadside Advertising 

Punishments were the Execution of Levi Ames in 1773 




Solemn Farewell to 
LEFI AMES, 

Being a PO EM written a few Days before his 
E X E C U T I O N, for Bttrghr^ Off. ai, 1773. 



124 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 





A Pillory 



Stocks 



severe and as a warning to others were inflicted in public. 
When some person was to be punished the town crier with 
his bell would frequently invite all the good people to come 
and see the sight. In the public square the whipping post, 
pillory and stocks stood ready for culprits, and in the pond 
near by there might be a ducking-stool. The 
gallows was kept ready on some convenient 
hilltop, still there was little occasion for its 
use except to hang a pi- 
rate now and then. In 
those days pirates infest- 
ed the coast from Massa- 
chusetts Bay to Albemarle 
Sound. 

Vagrants and petty 
thieves were usually sen- 
tenced to sit for hours with their feet fastened in the stocks ; 
scolds and mischief-makir.g women were often half-drowned 
on the ducking-stools ; men guilty of disorder and wife- 
beating were flogged and pilloried. Sometimes the culprit 
was branded on the forehead with the initial letter of the 
ofl^ense, as "D" for drunkenness and for certain crimes the 
nose was slit, or the ears cut off. 

Modes of transportation. — The earliest colonists settled 
along navigable streams and boats furnished them with their 
flrst means of transportation. Later, trails were cut through 
the forests from one settlement to another, and these in time 
were widened to rough roads over which yokes of oxen 
drew heavy carts. 

It was near the time of the Revolution before turnpikes 
were built connecting some of the larger cities. At regular 
distances gates were placed across them and tolls collected. 
Toll bridges gradually replaced fords and ferries for cross- 
ing streams. 



SOCIAL LIFE IN THE COLONIES 



12S 



In 1752 the first stage-coach line running between Boston 
and New York was estabHshed, and in 1756 one from New 
York to Philadelphia. A journey from Boston to Ports- 
mouth, New Hampshire (sixty miles) required two days 
and cost ten dollars. In the South the planters usually sent 
their produce to market by boat and there were few interior 




A Colonial Stage-Coach and Tavern 

towns. Except for the highways in the vicinity of cities 
roads were mere paths. 

Colonial postal system. — The attempt of Governor An- 
dros to centralize the government of the Northern Colonies 
showed the need of an intercolonial postal system. In 1695 
"post riders" were inaugurated between New Hampshire 
and Virginia. Benjamin Franklin was made postmaster- 
general in 1755, and by the time of the Revolution the 
colonies had two hundred post-offices. A regular line of 
packets was started between Boston and New York in 1755, 
and these carried "sinde letters" — a sheet written on one 



126 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

side — for a shilling. With such slow and inconvenient trans- 
portation there could be little social or commercial inter- 
course among the colonies. 

Town meetings in New England. — New England was 
divided into small irregularly shaped districts, called towns, 
each of which included a village with the adjacent coun- 
try. The voters assembled in town meeting and chose 
selectmen, constables, fence viewers, poundkeepers and 
other officials. They settled affairs of importance, vary- 
ing from tax levies to regulations for the "size of a house." 
In the South the voters were so widely scattered as to 
render town meetings impossible. These colonies, there- 
fore, were divided into counties in which the sheriffs, jus- 
tices of the peace and other officials were appointed by 
the royal governors in the name of the king. 

Qualifications of a voter. — In order to vote a man 
must own property and be a taxpayer, and in some colonies 
a member of a particular church. At the time of the Revo- 
lution less than one-fourth of the grown men were qualified 
to vote. Many who possessed the right did not exercise it, 
and as a result the government was left to a small class. 
This governing class consisted of the large planters of the 
tide-water section in the South, the rich Quaker merchants 
and landowners of the Delaware region, the great merchants 
and patroons of New York, and the aristocracy of New 
England ; and although a small minority, it controlled co- 
lonial politics. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. It was easier to have schools in the New England Colonies than 

in the Southern Colonies. Why? Were there free public 
schools in the Middle Colonies? 

2. Describe a colonial schoolhouse. What studies composed the 

curriculum? Name six or eight colleges in existence at the 
time of the Revolution. How do these colleges rank to-day? 



SOCIAL LIFP: in the colonies 127 

3. Why was it considered so important in colonial days to learn to 

read the Bible and to know the catechism? Describe a Puri- 
tan Sabbath Day. 

4. Compare the amusements and diversions of young people in 

colonial days with those of young people in your neighbor- 
hood to-day. 

5. Try to find out who invented the printing press. Where was the 

first printing press set up in this country? Benjamin Franklin 
was a printer before he became a diplomat and a statesman. 
Write in your note-book an account of Franklin's apprentice- 
ship as a printer. 

6. What were some of the ways of punishing lawbreakers in colo- 

nial days? Should the punishment of criminals and law- 
breakers be made to fit the crime or to fit the criminal? How 
is it to-day in your state? 

7. Make a list of the different ways in which colonial people trav- 

eled from place to place. It is said that the southern people 
were the best colonial horsemen. How do you account for 
this ? 

8. What were the qualifications to vote in colonial days? Town 

meetings were held in the New England Colonies, but not in 
the Southern Colonies. Why? What are the qualifications to 
vote in your state to-day? 

9. There were many religious sects and denominations in the colo- 

nies. Was this an advantage or a disadvantage in the develop- 
• ment of religious tolerance? What is meant by religious 
tolerance ? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

L A corn-husking party, a shooting match or a quilting bee. 

2. John Wesley's visit to the United States. 

3. Colonial schools and school-books. 

REFERENCES 

1. Hart's Colonial Children, Part VII. 

2. Eggleston's Our First Century, pp. 192-200. 




I 

A Matchlock Gun of Colonial Days 

It was (liscbarged hy lighting the fuse with a live coal 



CHAPTER XII 



ECONOMIC PHASES OF COLONIAL LIFE 

The population in 1770. — On the eve of the Revolution 
the population of the thirteen colonies numbered about 
2.300,000, distributed as follows: 



SOUTH 



In hundreds of thousands 



Distribution of Population in 

1770 with Reference to Mason 

and Dixon's Line 

Colonies — Virginia, 450,000 
South Carolina, 65,000 ; Geo 
000. 



New England Colonies 
— Massachusetts, 335.000 ; 
New Hampshire, 81,000; 
Rhode Island, 60,000; Con- 
necticut, 196.000. Middle 
Colonies — Pennsylvania 
and Delaware, 300.000; 
New York, 191,000; New 
Jersey. 120,000. Southern 
North Carolina, 260,000; 
rgia, 18,000; Maryland, 250,- 



Small as this number may seem to us now, it was nearly 
one-fourth as great as the population of Great Britain at 
that time. 

Location of English settlements in America. — English 
settlements in America, following the curves of the At- 
lantic shore, bordered the coast for thirteen hundred miles, 
but extended inland for the most part not more than fifty 
or sixty miles. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware. 
Connecticut, New Jersey and Maryland had been opened 
up with boundaries much the same as to-day, and settlers 
were to be found in all sections. The hostility of the Iro- 
quois had confined the settlements in New York largely to 
the Hudson Valley. Except for the village of Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania had few settlements west of a line drawn 

128 



ECONOMIC PHASES OF COLONIAL LIFE 



129 



through Harrisbiirg. Virginia had expanded farther west- 
ward. The independent spirit of the Scotch-Irish had led 
them to seek homes in the Shenandoah Valley, while whole 
communities of industrious Germans from Pennsylvania 
had migrated there also. Farther south the settlers clung to 
the rich lowlands of the tide-water section except in the 
Carolinas. There enough Scotch-Irish and Germans had 
settled in the uplands to warrant the organization of western 
counties. 

The leading cities. — Philadelphia, the largest city, had 
now twenty-five thousand inhabitants. The only other places 
with sufficient population to be called cities were New York, 
Boston, Baltimore, Charleston, Hartford, Providence, Nor- 
folk and Savannah, and most of them were only overgrown 
towns. Not long before an English traveler had said of New 
York: "It contains between two and three thousand houses, 
and sixteen or seventeen thousand inhabitants, and is toler- 



--^5'^^^ 




The Water-Front in New York Showing the Slave Mark; 



130 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

ably well built. The streets are paved and very clean, but in 
general narrow. The whole length of the town is something 
more than a mile ; the breadth of it about half an one. The 
situation is, I believe, esteemed healthy ; but it is subject to 
one great inconvenience, which is the lack of fresh water ; so 
that the inhabitants are obliged to have it brought from 
springs at some distance out of town." But the streets were 
so poorly lighted at this time that Benjamin Franklin in- 
sisted, "In Philadelphia one could tell a New Yorker by the 
careful way he stepped over the smooth pavements." 

Nationality of the people in the English colonies. — 
Probably three-fifths of the white population were of Eng- 
lish descent, and one-half of the remainder could trace their 
ancestry back to Scotland or Ireland. According to na- 
tionality the colonies fell into three groups — New England, 
the Middle and the Southern. The New England pioneers 
were Puritans and proud of it. The five Southern Colonies 
were English also, with a mixture of Scotch-Irish and Ger- 
man, and a few French and Swiss. In the Middle Colonies, 
like metals, in the melting pot, were blended nearly a dozen 
nationalities — English, Dutch. French, Scotch-Irish, Ger- 
man, Swedish, Finnish and Jewish. On the streets of New 
York, it was boasted, could be heard every language used 
by civilized nations. 

Occupations of the colonists. — Less than five per cent. 
of the people lived in cities and the main industry was farm- 
ing. Their summer season being so short, the New England- 
ers usually combined farming with fishing, lumbering, or 
home manufacturing. In the Middle Colonies there was lum- 
bering and a little mining. In the South agriculture was pur- 
sued on a large scale, and much attention was given to fur- 
trading and getting out naval stores, as tar, pitch, rosin and 
turpentine are called. In all the colonies the people of the 
coast towns engaged in commerce, but the farther north one 
went the more important this industry became. 



ECONOMIC PHASES OF COLONIAL LIFE 131 

Lumber and naval stores. — The vast areas of forest in 
America especially attracted the early explorers. There was 
lack of timber, even firewood, in England and western 
Europe. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth there had 
been a great increase in shipbuilding and England had been 
largely denuded of her forests to supply the material. Now, 
when eager to lead Europe in commercial enterprise, she 
must depend on Russia and Scandinavia for her ship tim- 
bers. The recently established iron furnaces and the glass 
factories were so fast consuming, for fuel, the few wood- 
lands left that laws already had been passed restricting their 
operation. Far-sighted Englishmen saw in the lack of wood 
a serious menace to the nation's commercial and manufac- 
turing aspirations. 

Locating along the coast, as they did, none of the settlers 
were far from timber of merchantable size. Trading com- 
panies and proprietors urged them to export to England 
lumber of all kinds. In the New England Colonies, and along 
the Hudson especially, shipbuilding became so extensive an 
industry that the owners of English shipyards protested. 
The colonial yards not only put better material into their 
ships, but were able to produce them at a much lower price, 
with the result that by 1770 they were turning out for the 
mother country as many as five hundred a year. 

Not only did England -need lumber and ship timbers, but 
naval stores, too. The thrifty New Englanders early found 
these could be distilled from pine knots, and thus what 
they would otherwise have destroyed could be made a 
source of wealth. In 1770, it is recorded, "a single fleet 
carried away from Boston over six thousand barrels of 
naval stores." It was in the piny woods of eastern Caro- 
lina, however, that the industry was most important. Many 
of the poor and discontented Virginians slipped beyond the 
bounds of that colony and began to make tar. When the 
trees of one district became exhausted, they would move on 



132 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




Colonial Shipbuilding 



From an old print 



to another, not bothered by such "little" formalities as 
"grants" and "quit rents." Such a free life in the wilds 
bred independence, and to it may be traced much of the 
wrangling with the governors w^iich marked the early his- 
tory of northern Carolina. 

The fishing industry. — We have already seen that 
Cabot's discovery of the Newfoundland fishing banks led 
many English and French fishermen in that direction. By 
1660 two-thirds of the vessels employed in the fisheries were 
English, the remainder mostly French. While the dangers 
were many, the profits were large ; single captains are said 
to have cleared as much as twenty-five thousand dollars a 
season. The nearness of the fishing grounds was one of the 
inducements offered by John Winthrop to attract colonists 
to Massachusetts Bay. 

Having a rocky soil and a cold climate with which to 
contend, the Massachusetts colonists soon realized that their 
prosperity depended largely on this deep-sea fishing. Even 
to-day a large codfish, carved from wood, has a promi- 



ECONOMIC PHASES OF COLONIAL LIFE 



133 




nent position in the hall where the General Court of Massa- 
chusetts holds its sessions, as a constant reminder of the 
importance of the industry to the state. Since the English 
fisherman found it hard to compete with the nearer New 
Englanders, and the settlers of New France were required 
by their king to 
keep to fur-trad- 
ing, the colonists 
had few rivals on 
the banks except 
those from the 
north of Prance. 

In colonial days 
the fish were split 
open, salted and 
dried and mar- 
keted whole. Only 
the medium sizes 
reached England 
and the continental 
trade. The largest, which could not be cured sufficiently to 
insure long keeping, were sold in the colonies near at hand. 
The most profit, however, was in the small inferior kinds 
and the broken and tainted fish that went in huge quantities 
to the West Indies to furnish food for negro slaves. 

The fur trade. — The colonists found the forests and 
swamps of America abounding in wild animals, the skins 
of which were highly prized by the wealthy people of Eu- 
rope. Exporting furs insured large returns, so the Indians 
were encouraged to hunt and trap. The traders were al- 
ways ready to exchange hatchets, knives, beads, bright col- 
ored cloth and other articles which appealed to the red 
man's fancy for his pelts. Bargaining was easy at first, 
for the Indians were satisfied with whatever was offered 
them. Captain John Smith, on one occasion, received 



Method of Conducting the Codfish 
Industry in Colonial Days 



134 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



beaver skins worth two hundred and fifty dollars for a 
copper kettle. Later the Indians began to learn the value of 
their skins and they resented the methods employed by the 
traders. Except where there was competition as in locali- 
ties reached by l)Oth English and French traders or by those 
of rival colonies, the Indian had to accept what was ofi^ered 




1 loin du old print 



Fur-Traders Bartering with an Indian 



him or keep his furs. To get the red man drunk and then 
drive the bargain, as done once by a Massachusetts official 
when buying land from a neighboring chieftain, was a com- 
mon practise. Although the sale of liquor and firearms to 
Indians was prohibited by law, large quantities of both were 
smuggled to them in exchange for skins. 

With the aid of the fur trade, as we have seen, the Ply- 
mouth colonists were enabled to pay their indebtedness to 
the English merchants. Later, in five years, that colony 
cleared two hundred thousand dollars on its exports of furs 
to England. But such a slaughter of wild animals could not 
last indefinitely. With their gradual extermination the hunt- 
ing and trapping had to cease, and within a century the fur 
industry had almost disappeared from New England. 



ECONOMIC PHASES OF COLONIAL LIFE 135 

New York and Albany traders did not confine their opera- 
tions to the tribes alHed to the EngHsh, but carried on an 
ilHcit traffic with French dealers at Montreal, Mackinac and 
Sault Ste. Marie. In 1724 it was claimed that Albany ob- 
tained four-fifths of its pelts in exchange for cheap colonial 
goods smuggled into New France. Up to 1719 the fur trade 
in South Carolina was restricted to the agents of the pro- 
prietors. Their unfair dealings were largely responsible for 
the brutal Indian raids on the outlying settlements which 
retarded the growth of that colony. Although in 1720 — the 
year in which the colonists took matters into their own 
hands — a quarter of a million skins were produced, twenty- 
five years later fur-trading had lost its importance. 

Colonial agriculture. — Throughout Europe at this time 
social and political standing was largely determined by land- 
ownership. The large estates were tilled by tenants or hired 
laborers. For a peasant to own land was a "consummation 
most devoutly to be wished" but difficult to achieve. In 
America the landless 
classes of all nations ^^^^ ^J^'^^^ 
saw an opportunity "^^^V^ 

to acquire home- » /- i • , t^, 

, , , A Colonial Plow 

steads and become 

persons of some consequence. This was a strong incentive 
to immigration. Massachusetts gave every "adventurer" 
fifty acres of land; New Jersey, at least one hundred and 
fifty to every man possessed of a musket and supplies suf- 
ficient to last six months ; New York, when the Mohawk 
Valley was opened for settlement, a free grant to every 
actual settler. • 

Excepting the estates of the Dutch patroons along the 
Hudson and the large plantations of the tide-water section 
of the South, the farms were usually small and worked by 
the owners with the aid of their children and sometimes a 
"hired man" or two. 




136 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

In New England the produce of the farms was largely 
consumed at home. The large plantations in the South, on 
the other hand, were devoted to commercial crops — tobacco, 
rice and indigo — most of which were shipped to England. 
The farmers of the Middle Colonies, 'especially in the region 
tributary to New York and Philadelphia, produced large 
quantities of grain and many cattle and hogs. These found 
their way into intercolonial and West India commerce, as 
flour, crackers, beer and salted meats. 

Manufacturing in the colonies. — England was fast be- 
coming a great manufacturing nation when her colonists be- 
gan to settle America. Less than a century before she had 
begun weaving her own woolens, and the industries of silk, 
paper, thread and window-glass making were fairly well 
started. Manchester already had a reputation for its cotton 
goods and Birmingham for wares of brass and other metals. 

Although the provinces in America were called "planta- 
tions" the British Government did not encourage the raising 
of food products for export. The demand for raw ma- 
terials for manufacturing was increasing and the colonies 
must supply the need. So much were naval stores, potash 
and glass wanted, that workmen skilled in their production 
were procured in Germany, Poland and Italy and sent to 
America. 

England's policy regarding manufacturing. — Back in 
Queen Elizabeth's time, the English Government had be- 
gun to foster manufacturing by granting patents, monop- 
olies and special privileges. Certain towns were given the 
right to make articles forbidden to other places. With 
the idea that colonies existed solely for the benefit of the 
mother country, naturally colonial manufacturers were pro- 
hibited from making articles which would compete with the 
products of English factories. This was no discrimination 
against America, for Ireland and Scotland were both sim- 
ilarly restricted. In the colonies, however, this policy 



ECONOMIC PHASES OF COLONIAL LIFE 



137 




aroused bitter resentment, and eventually became one of the 
i^rievances which caused them to revolt. 

Manufacturing in New England and Middle Colonies. 
— At first the colonists had to devote their time to felling 
the forests and clearing land to build homes and raise food. 
Later, there arose in the New England and Middle Colonies 
a great variety of small manu- 
factures which often took the 
form of "pick-up work" on 
the farms. The men and boys 
made barrel parts — heads, 
staves and hoops — for which 
there was ready sale to the 
sugar planters of the West 
Indies ; the women and girls 
spun thread and yarn and 
wove coarse cloths on the 
rude looms in their homes. 

So long as English mer- 
chants took American raw materials at a fair price, so that 
the colonists would have money owing them with which to 
jiurchase the better-made British goods, the demand for 
the crude American manufactures was largely local. But 
when the English markets were interfered with by wars, 
restrictions, or stagnant trade, and the colonists were de- 
j)rived of their "overseas credits" they were forced to make 
at home what they had formerly bought abroad. This was 
easy, for the emigrants of the eighteenth century included a 
great variety of skilled artisans. 

In the ]\Iiddle Colonies and also Maryland and Virginia, 
many flour mills were built along the fall line where water 
power was easily obtained. By 1700 it was said that Penn- 
sylvania had made "bread, flour and beer a drug in all the 
markets of the West Indies." In the early part of the 
eighteenth century, iron was mined and smelted all the way 



A Wheel for Spinning Flax 



138 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




A Colonial Iron Forge in 
Pennsylvania 



from Massachusetts 
to Virginia and sim- 
ple utensils were be- 
ing wrought from it. 
England at first dis- 
couraged this indus- 
try, but later per- 
mitted the export of 
pig and bar iron. In 
1775, not less than 
seventy-five hundred 
tons were sent to 
England to be made 
into articles which, 
had not the Revolu- 
tionary War imme- 
diately followed, 
would soon have 



found their way to the colonies. The distilling of rum be- 
came a profitable industry in Rhode Island and Massachu- 
setts. In 1768 the shipments of rum to Africa and the West 
Indies amounted to two hundred eighty-one thousand gallons. 

Colonial commerce. — Colonial commerce had an early 
start. By 1640 there was exchange of products within the 
New England Colonies themselves, between New England 
and New Amsterdam, and also back and forth from New 
England to Virginia. Twenty years later colonial furs, fish, 
lumber and tobacco were being offered in the markets of 
Europe. At first this commerce was largely carried in 
Dutch "bottoms." Even after the Navigation Acts were 
passed, Cromwell had to excej^t the cargo vessels of Hol- 
land, that colonial shii)ments might escape the attacks of 
the Spanish privateers during the war with Spain. 

Shipbuilding and the carrying trade. — The success of 
the colonists in shipbuilding soon led them to engage in 



ECONOMIC PHASES OF COLONIAL LIFE 139 

the carrying trade for themselves. Often both ships and 
cargo were the product of a single neighborhood. From 
the beginning the mother country held that these colonial 
merchantmen were entitled to the same consideration and 
bound by the same restrictions as those owned in Eng- 
land. Certain ports in Great Britain, at this time, enjoyed , 
a monopoly of certain foreign trade and colonial ships were 
expected to recognize their "rights." 

EfTect of Navigation Acts on colonial commerce. — The 
various Navigation Acts required all European wares des- 
tined for the colonies to be carried to England and trans- 
shipped in British or colonial vessels, and likewise all "enu- 
merated" goods to be transported to England. They were 
designed to produce revenue, and in order to simplify the 
collection of the taxes all import and export duties were 
payable in England. The result was that articles of Euro- 
pean manufacture were made costly, and colonial com- 
modities netted the producers much less than if direct mar- 
kets could have been sought. 

In the South the plantations were largely along naviga- 
ble streams, and those of one section exported the same 
commodity. British merchants sent their ships direct to 
the plantations of Virginia and Maryland for tobacco, and 
purchased for the planters in London whatever supplies they 
needed. The larger planters acted as agents for the smaller 
ones. As a resvilt of this, very few towns grew up in these 
colonies. In South Carolina many of the rice and indigo 
]:)lanters lived in Charleston, and their crops were sold in 
that city and from there shipped abroad. Consequently 
early in its history Charleston had become a busy seaport. 

Smuggling a common practise. — When the northern 
ship owners found that Great Britain had no intention 
of enforcing in the colonies the Navigation Acts, many, 
attracted by the large profits to be realized, engaged in 
"smuggling," as the violation of these laws was termed. 



140 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

The colonial officials winked at the practise and for liberal 
"eye salve" and "palm oil," as bribery was called, allowed 
American ships to set sail for the West Indies, South 
America and the Continent. This lawbreaking was not con- 
sidered disgraceful and involved little risk. 

Shortly before the Revolution, Boston alone had six hun- 
dred vessels, some of them of seven and eight hundred 
tons burden, engaged in foreign commerce. To the Guinea 
coast they took rum and brought back slaves. They carried 
flour, fish and other foodstuffs to western Europe and the 
ports of the Mediterranean, and exchanged them for wines, 
teas, cloths and other fine merchandise. In the West In- 
dies they found eager purchasers for their salt meats, refuse 
fish, flour, beer and New England and European goods, and 
came home with cargoes of sugar, molasses and tropical 
fruits, and with Spanish gold and silver. 

Parliament attempts to stop smuggling. — In 1733 Par- 
liament tried to stop the illicit commerce with the Spanish, 
French and Dutch West Indies by enacting the "Sugar 
Act." This provided that sugar and molasses could only 
be imported into the colonies from the British Islands. 
Although this act was little better enforced than the pre- 
vious trade laws had been, the trouble and expense involved 
in its invasion were a constant source of irritation to the 
New Englanders. It was not, however, until the French 
and Indian War that the Ministry seemed to realize the 
seriousness of colonial smuggling. So disloyal, at that time, 
were many of the New Englanders, that although the mother 
country and the colonists themselves were engaged in a life 
and death struggle with the French in America, they per- 
sisted in smuggling supplies to New France. 

The labor supply. — The crying need of the colonies 
was an adequate supply of labor, and the larger the farms 
the more pressing it became. The two great systems of 
colonial labor — indentured white servants and negro 



ECONOMIC PHASES OF COLONIAL LIFE 



141 



slaves — were introduced at about the same time. In 1619, 
as we have seen, negroes were brought to Virginia and sold 
to the planters ; and the next year the Pilgrim Fathers 
brought with them to Plymouth a few indentured servants. 

During the first century of colonial life, white laborers 
far outnumbered negroes, who were not popular except in 
South Carolina, where they were better able to endure work 
in the rice swamps. Indentured servants could be retained 
only a few years and were usually anxious to acquire farms 
of their own as soon as their time was up. Besides, the 
colonists objected to the large number of certain classes of 
criminal's which England was insisting on sentencing to 
service in her plantations in America. Maryland received 
the largest number, but most of the colonies had more than 
they wanted — fully fifty thousand in all. These objections 
eventually led large planters to adopt slave labor altogether. 

The negro slave trade. — Until 1698 the Royal African 
Company had a monopoly of supplying the colonies with 
slaves. With the increasing demand for negroes other 
merchants were allowed to engage in the trade. IMany 
a Massachusetts and Rhode Island family became promi- 




Deck Plan of a New England "Slaver" 

The negroes were bound in pairs by manacles fastened to their 

ankles, and required to lie on tlieir hacks in a space less than 

five feet high. It was unavoidable that many died before the 

long voyage from Africa was ended 

nent through wealth amassed in trading rum for negroes 
to be sold as slaves. By 1707 twenty-five thousand were 
imported annually and by 1750 there were three hundred 



142 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

thousand in the thirteen colonies. Except on the western 
shore of Narragansett Bay there were few in New England. 
In New York they made up one-sixth of the population ; in 
Maryland, one-fourth ; in Virginia, two-fifths ; and in South 
Carolina, a majority. 

Negro slavery adapted to the plantations in Southern 
Colonies. — Ignorant and uncivilized, the slaves were 
adapted only to the rough work of the one-crop system. On 
the farms of the North slave labor was more costly than 
white ; but the tobacco planters of Delaware, Maryland and 
Virginia, and the rice growers of South Carolina found it 
well suited to their needs. The slaves were in some cases 
better treated than were the "poor whites" of the Northern 
Colonies, and they were being gradually Christianized. The 
menace of insurrection was ever present and the safety of 
the whites depended on stern discipline. In South Carolina 
and later in Georgia the danger was greatest, owing to the 
disposition of the Spaniards in Florida to stir up trouble. 
For the colony's protection laws to limit the slave population 
were enacted by the South Carolina Assembly, but vetoed by 
the king. William Byrd, of Virginia, and many other prom- 
inent southerners sympathized with the Georgia trustees in 
their desire to keep slavery out of their colony. 

The money question. — The British Government per- 
sistently refused to supply its colonies with coin sufficient 
for the convenient transaction of business. In early times 
no coins at all were in circulation outside of the towns, and 
the only method of trading was by bartering so much of one 
commodity for so much of another. The taxes were paid in 
produce called "country paye." Virginia built warehouses 
where the settlers could store their tobacco and get receipts 
for it. These tobacco receipts were then used as money in 
that colony, and debts and loans were contracted and paid in 
pounds of tobacco. 

Tobacco receipts substitutes for hard money. — The 



ECONOMIC PHASES OF COLONIAL LIFE 



143 



substitutes for coins needed to have a fixed value, and 
often this was estabhshed by the town meetings and as- 
sembHes. But in times of either great abundance or scar- 
city the real value would be far below or far above the 
legal price, and one of the parties to any transaction would 
sufifer loss. In Virginia the salary of a clergyman was six- 
teen thousand pounds of tobacco a year, Qnce when the 
crop was short the assembly authorized the substitution of 
money for tobacco at the rate of twopence a pound. George 
II vetoed this law and a parson brought suit to recover the 
difference between the value of the tobacco due him and the 
money he had been paid. Patrick Henry first came into 
{irominence in this lawsuit, in which he took the part of the 
colony. He cried out boldly against the king for the mis- 
erable government he was giving his colonies and declared 
that by vetoing the "Two-Penny Act" he "degenerates into 
a tyrant and forfeits all right to obedience." 

Little hard money in circulation. — For thirty years, 
beginning in 1652, Massachusetts coined her celebrated 
"pine tree shillings." 
In order to prevent 
them leaving the col- 
ony they were made 
to contain only sev- 
ty-five per cent, sil- 
ver. This mint fur- 
nished Charles II an 
excuse for confiscat- 
ing the charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The 
charge was that "pyrats" took their booty there and had it 
coined so that it could not be identified. 

The hard money in circulation was of many kinds. The 
illicit West India trade had brought gold doubloons, silver 
"pieces of eight," and other smaller Spanish coins. There 
were English guineas, Portuguese moidores and various odd 




A Pine Tree Shilllnsr 



144 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



Three Sliillim, 

^iUdi.u:^ronx y^Qo^ony r/'RIlode 
jlsland ixlo lhc(/^oJ.icf.ioi- ,f/iail dco 
\eaua/tOiA(v/\.cyJ\'j-A(r//^e. acsc/)ti 
^t-cJ 6r/^ //e ^rca/it/-cr in alt . | 
I 0^u6Yi'c yj ay/!ic/i/j' a/t(//crr any \ 
, t^iac^A of any^^'^tnic in f^Ac^ 
€Jj'ca/itru CA c/vyjo/-^- Chiy:t/ic 

/N^v\ (Pcncra! c/l/rrc/nnM ///'%- 
m^(^S^ ^ ^—^ i^c 



^j¥ 



J7: 



coins from western 
Europe. 

The printing of 
paper money. — 
When the mint was 
shut down in Massa- 
chusetts, the printing 
of paper money was 
begun immediately, 
and other colonies 
soon followed the 
example. The money 
they printed had 
nothing behind it ex- 
cept the confidence 
of the people. The 
different colonies 
distrusted one an- 
other so much that 
this money was not 
received outside of 
the colony which issued it. Even in that colony its pur- 
chasing power was not equal to that of hard money, and 
sometimes fell to a fourth or fifth of it. 

In 1760 colonial imports from England exceeded the ex- 
ports by four million dollars and this balance had to be 
settled in hard coin. As the coins sent over were accepted 
for only the actual value of the gold and silver in them, the 
merchants were draining the country of much of its best 
money. Whatever was left was hoarded by the miserly and 
the rich. With the paper currency, which constantly depreci- 
ated in value, the colonists had to pay wages and transact 
tbe business of every-day life. Aroused at last, the British 
Government forbade the issuing of any more paper money 
and took steps which somewhat relieved the stringency. 



Early Colonial Currency 

Before being issued it was signed 
in the blank space 



ECONOMIC PHASES OF COLONIAL LIFE 145 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. What was the estimated population of the English colonies in 

America on the eve of the Revolutionary War? How did this 
compare with the population of the mother country? 

2. What other nations in Europe had sent emigrants to the Eng- 

lish colonies? In which colonies did they live principally? 

3. Just before the Revolution most of the people in the English 

settlements lived within sixty miles of the Atlantic coast. Try 
to find two or more reasons for this. 

4. What industry was common to all the colonies? Make a list of 

the occupations that prevailed in the New England Colonies ; 
in the Middle Colonies ; in the Southern Colonies. 

5. In colonial days did the farmers who worked on the land own 

their farms? How is it in your neighborhood to-day? How 
is it in Russia to-day? Do you believe landownership de- 
velops independence and self-reliance? In your county to-day 
are most of the farmers landowners or tenants? 

6. Wh}' did England actively discourage manufacturing in the col- 

onies? Make a list of articles manufactured in spite of Eng- 
land's opposition and write them in your note-book. 

7. At first colonial commerce was carried in Dutch "bottoms" 

mainly. Why? Which colonies soon developed shipbuilding? 

8. What were some of the Navigation Acts ? Why did the colonies 

engage in smuggling? 

9. Describe the foreign commerce of Boston in 1770. 

10. What were the two systems of labor in colonial times? Compare 

the labor systems of Virginia and Massachusetts. 

11. Name the different kinds of money used in the English colonies 

before the Revolution. 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. Reasons why the early colonists settled within fifty or sixty 

miles of the Atlantic. 

2. Reasons whjf in 1770 ninety- five per cent, of tlie people lived in 

rural districts. 

REFERENCES 

1. Brigham's Geographic Influences in American History, Chap- 

ter III. 

2. Spark's The Men Who Made the Nation, Chapter I. 

3. Thompson's History of the United States, P olitical-I ndustrial- 

Social, pp. 33-102. Note. The teacher will find in this book a 
wealth of material on the economic phases of colonial life. 



CHAPTER XIII 
WHAT CAUSED THE COLONIES TO REVOLT 

The western frontier. — The charters of Massachusetts 
and Connecticut in the North and of Virginia and the other 
colonies in the South had provided that their respective 
grants should extend to the Pacific Ocean. It was the efifort 
of Virginia to defend her back-country that brought on the 
French and Indian War. No sooner were the French ex- 
pelled from the Alleghany Valley than Scotch-Irish settlers 
from Virginia and Germans from Pennsylvania built a vil- 
lage around Fort Pitt (1758). 

In disregard of these charters George III, the new king, 
issued a proclamation that "the land and territories lying 
to the westward of the sources of the rivers which fall into 
the sea (Atlantic Ocean)" should be set apart for the In- 
dians. The Virginians, especially, were indignant and pro- 
ceeded to pay no attention to the so-called "Proclamation 
Line." Lands were granted as far west as the Ohio and at- 
tempts were actually made to establish the colonies of 
Transylvania and Westsylvania south of it. 

Daniel Boone, famous hunter and pioneer. — Daniel 
Boone, a fearless North Carolina hunter, who had been 
with Washington and Braddock on their disastrous expe- 
dition, accompanied by a few hardy backwoodsmen, crossed 
the Alleghanies and explored the country as far west as 
the blue-grass section of Kentucky (1769). At that time 
this region was known as "the Dark and Bloody Ground," 
because, situated midway between the lands of the Five 
Nations and the Cherokees, it was the scene of many Indian 
battles. A little later Boone began cutting a trail, called 

146 



WHAT CAUSED THE COLONIES TO REVOLT 



147 



"Boone's Trace," through Cumberland Gap, and by this 
many of the early settlers of the western slope of the 
Appalachians crossed the Divide. 

While Daniel Boone was exploring Kentucky, William 
Bean, a North Caro- 
linian, crossed the 
mountains a little 
farther south and 
built himself a cabin 
near the head waters 
of the Watauga, in 
what is now eastern 
Tennessee. Bean 
was soon followed 
by small parties of 
settlers from both of 
the Carolinas as well 
as Virginia, led by 
John Sevier and 
James Robertson. After the battle of Alamance so many of 
the oppressed farmers from western North Carolina fled 
thither that several little settlements were made in both the 
Watauga and Holston Valleys. Feeling the need of some 




Daniel Boone 




Where the Holston and Watauga Settlements Were Made 



148 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



kind of government, the settlers organized in 1772 the 
"Watauga Association." They drew up a constitution which 
provided for a legislature of thirteen members and an ex- 
ecutive council consisting of five commissioners. After the 
flight of Governor Martin from North Carolina in 1775, the 
Watauga settlements sought the protection of that colony. 
A year later they were recognized as the "Washington Dis- 
trict" and allowed to send representatives to the assembly. 

The government 
of the British Em- 
pire. — Now that the 
British Government 
was at peace with 
France and had no 
disturbance at home, 
there was time to 
give serious consid- 
eration to the neg- 
lected colonies. 
George III should 
have been popular, 
for, born and reared 
in Great Britain, he 
could rightly call 
himself a thorough 
Englishman. Al- 
though inclined to 
be stupid, he was an 
obstinate monarch and a firm believer in the right of a king 
to employ every means possible to accomplish his will. 

The "Rotten Borough" system, — Parliament, then as 
now, consisted of a House of Lords and the House of 
Commons. It represented directly only a small part of the 
British nation. At the death of a lord his title descended 
to his eldest son. and his seat in the upper house went 




George III. the Last King Who Ruled 
over the Colonies 



WHAT CAUSED THE COLONIES TO REVOLT 149 

with it. The members of the House of Commons were 
elected by only a small portion of the adult male popula- 
tion, for to be able to vote one had to own land. The 
districts from which the members were chosen remained the 
same as two hundred years before, although during that 
time the" population had shifted from one center to another. 
What had been a rural hamlet then, often now was a large 
manufacturing town without representation. Other districts 
had dwindled to only a few hundred inhabitants and still 
were entitled to their seats in the House of Commons. One 
of the "rotten boroughs," as these districts were called, ac- 
tually was uninhabited, biit still entitled to two representa- 
tives who were chosen by the persons who owned the land. 
Members did not have to live in the districts they repre- 
sented, so the seats belonging to the "rotten boroughs" were 
bought and sold, and politics was shamefully corrupt. 

During the reigns of George I and George H the Whig 
party had a majority in Parliament. Since the policy of 
choosing the ministry from the party in power had been 
adopted, the government was wholly Whig. Of late there 
had been a split in the ranks, and a faction calling them- 
selves New Whigs were demanding a redistricting of Eng- 
land. This would eliminate the evil of "seat-buying" and 
give all sections an equal representation in Parliament. Pitt, 
their leader, boldly denounced the state of affairs. He stated 
that the principle of "No taxation without representation," 
the bulwark of English liberty, was being violated when 
cities like Birmingham and Leeds, paying large taxes, had 
no members in the House of Commons to speak for them. 

King George III opposed to William Pitt. — George HI 
had resolved to make the government responsible to the 
king and in this had the support of the Tories. The only 
way they could hope to control Parliament was by the 
purchase of seats. As the New Whigs were bent on break- 
ing up that practise the feeling of the king for Pitt and his 
followers was intenselv bitter. 



150 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



Financial difficulties of England. — The Seven Years' 
War had left the treasury almost empty and confronted 
by so large a national debt that the thought of paying it was 
staggering. The territory gained by the Treaty of Paris had 



j^wy I^^C'fve- iK //iS3. Frpvy F^ra^ -t^i ^7(>3. 





How the King's Privy Purse had Shrunken 
A contemporaneous cartoon 

as yet yielded no revenue, and was actually an additional 
expense. Some of the Algonquin Indians, still loyal to the 
French, were already organizing a conspiracy against the 
frontier forts, while Florida was in constant danger from 
the Spanish. For the protection of its provinces the British 
Government decided to keep in America a standing army of 
ten thousand soldiers, and to require the colonists to pay a 
share of the expense. 

The king decides on internal taxation. — Heretofore the 
colonial assemblies had voted the colonial taxes and the 
salaries of the Crown officers. Many unsuccessful at- 
tempts ■ had been made by royal governors to levy taxes, 
but the only result had been to irritate the king's sub- 
jects. Never yet had the British Parliament imposed an 
internal tax on a colony. William Pitt and other Whig lead- 
ers warned the king against such a policy, but, influenced by 
dislike for the independent spirit shown by the Americans, 
he announced that the taxes should be laid and the full 
weight of the government should be felt by any one who 
dared resist them. 

The Obnoxious Acts.^Owing to lack of means and dis- 



WHAT CAUSED THE COLONIES TO REVOLT 



151 



honesty of officials, several laws, which had been enacted 
long before, had never been rigidly enforced in the colonies. 
George III declared that hereafter these should be strictly 
obeyed. They were as follows : 

( 1 ) The Navigation Acts. 

(2) The Trade Laws. 

(3) The Manufacturing Act. 

The Trade Laws required the colonists to sell their furs, 
tobacco, copper, indigo and other "enumerated articles" to 
English merchants. By resale to other countries the gold of 
Europe would be drawn to the mother country. According 
to the prevailing theory, that nation which possessed the 
most money was the most prosperous. These laws also for- 
bade the merchants to buy those articles outside the colonies. 

The Manufacturing Act prohibited the colonists from 
making certain articles such as steel goods, woolen cloth, 
fur hats, etc., either for trade among themselves or for ex- 
port, lest they should interfere with the business of English 
manufacturers. I 

New laws provided that custom duties should be laid on 
sugar bought outside the British West 
Indies and on articles brought from 
Europe directly or by way of the West 
Indies. And lastly, a "Stamp Act" 
was passed taxing every newspaper, 
pamphlet, advertisement, almanac and 
legal or commercial document. The 
stamps varied in price from a penny 
to ten- pounds and the revenue de- 
rived from their sales was to be used 
to support the army stationed in 
America. 

The king sends officers to enforce these acts. — To en- 
force these acts officers were sent over from England 




Facsimile of a British 
Tax Stamp 



152 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



who, armed with "general warrants," were authorized to 
break into and search warehouses, stores and even pri- 
vate homes. As these warrants named no particular per- 
son, anybody suspected of evading the law might be arrested 
and jailed. Trials were held before royal judges without 
the right of jury and, regardless of how flimsy the evidence, 
conviction usually followed. Armed vessels patrolled the 
coast on the lookout for smugglers, who, when caught, were 
brought before admiralty courts, where justice was swift 
and sure. 

Colonial resistance. — When the colonies grasped the 
full meaning of this policy they were furious. They pro- 
tested violently against the Stamp Act, but probably they 
really cared more about the breaking up of their smuggling 
by the rigid enforcement of the Navigation Laws. 

Patrick Henry, a gifted but unpolished Virginian lawyer, 
made a memorable speech before the House of Burgesses. 
"Tarquin and Csesar," he shouted, "had each his Brutus, 




Patrick Henry Making His Memorable Speech in the 
House of Burgesses 



WHAT CAUSED THE COLONIES TO REVOLT 153 

Charles I his Cromwell, and George III" — Interrupt§.fl 
here by the presiding officer's cries of "Treason ! Treason !" 
Henry paused a moment, and then politely resumed -his 
warning, "may profit by their example. If this be treason, 
make the most of it." Aroused by these fiery words, the 
Burgesses passed resolutions denouncing the Stamp Act and 
stating that, as Englishmen, Virginians had rights that could 
not be taken away ; and one of these was the right to be 
taxed only by their own assembly. 

In North Carolina after John Ashe, speaker of the as- 
sembly, had informed the governor that "We will resist its 
execution to the death," His Excellency declared its session 
at an end. 

The Stamp Act Congress. — Led by Samuel Adams and 
James Otis, the General Court of Massachusetts invited the 
colonies to send delegates to a congress in New York in 
October. South Carolina was the first to accept and eight 
others followed her example. This famous "Stamp Act 
Congress" spent several weeks in fiery talk. In their reso- 
lutions, after declaring loyalty to the king, the delegates 
condemned the Stamp Act and all laws interfering with 
colonial trade. They boldly informed the British Govern- 
ment that the colonies would submit to no taxes not levied 
by the colonial assemblies. 

William Pitt pleads the American cause. — Parliament 
was divided on the question. The Whigs, old and new, 
sided with the colonists, while the Tories supported the 
king. In an impassioned address before the House of 
Comrtions, Pitt said: "On a question that may mortally 
wound the freedom of three millions of virtuous and brave 
subjects beyond the Atlantic Ocean I can not keep silent. 
America being neither really nor virtually represented in 
Westminster (Parliament) can not be held legally, or con- 
stitutionally, or reasonably subject to any money bill of this 
kingdom. Americans are the sons of England. As subjects. 



154 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




From an old print 

William Pitt Speaking in the House of Commons 

they are entitled to the common rights of representation and 
can not be bound to pay taxes without their consent. The 
commons of America, represented in their several assem- 
blies, have ever been in possession of this their constitutional 
right, of giving and granting their own money. They would 
have been slaves if they had not enjoyed it. The gentleman 
tells us America is obstinate ; America is almost in open re- 
bellion. I rejoice that America has resisted." 

America protests against the Stamp Act. — While the 
legislatures protested, mobs in some of the large cities 
looted the houses of the Crow^n officials and threatened to 
cram the odious stamps down the throats of the agents who 
had them for sale. In one town an agent was seized and 
compelled to go about the streets shouting, "Liberty, prop- 
erty and no stamps." 

To keep alive the spirit of resistance organizations were 
formed — "The Sons of Liberty" by the men and "The 
Daughters of Libertv" bv the women — and the members 



WHAT CAUSED THE COLONIES TO REVOLT 



155 



pledged themselves to buy no British-made articles. The 
colonial merchants owing many million pounds in England 
countermanded their orders for more goods and refused to 
pay their debts. Newspapers and handbills continually 




ThurOiy, Oa,io.3,, 1765 THE WUAIB ujj. 

PENNSYLVANIA JOURNAL; 

AND 

WEEKLY ADVERTISER 



EXPIRING; In Hop« of a Kefurrection lo Life .igain. 



AMfony(ol)o obliged I 

«r3,thata3 The Stamp- 
AcT.ielaa'itobeob- 



u 

^^^H^^B Cuing, (.the/''>OUb pur- 
m->) the PufiiiOxrof this F»pa-imaiJo*o 



ligotory upo^ri t 



I tHerl 



l^iearthp Burthen, hiiihow^ht iteipeJi^l 
op awhile, morckr (odeliberatstwhe- 
I thtranyMcihodBcan be fyund to elude the 
I CKuJisforgod for 1^, and efcApe the mTup 
I portable Slavery , which it 13 hopej, fr»Mn 
I the Ian Repieienlalions now made agajnR 
|t)AlA.2, jD«y l>e eHeQti. Meanwhile, 

|1 ihuA came/Uy Retjuea evei:y Tixliyidual 



)r my SubCmbera Tnany of whom have 
been long beh^ Hand, (hat they wouU 
imediately Dlfchar^e their rerpeOive A r 
ars that 1 may be atjle, not only to 
foppott myleir during the Interval, but 
be better prepared to proceed agaiix with 
Ibis Tapeiv whenever an opening lor that 
PurpaA apjjean, which I hope will be 

Toon. -WILLUM ERADFOBD 



Facsimile of the Front Page of the Pennsylvania Journal the Day 
Before the Stamp Act Went into Effect 

urged the people not to trade with shopkeepers who per- 
sisted in selling articles made in Great Britain. 

Parliament repeals the Stamp Act. — Meanwhile the 
king had been compelled to a})point a new ministry. British 
merchants were flooding Parliament with memorials com- 
plaining that their commerce had been ruined because of the 
obnoxious laws. Factories generally had closed and the 
unemployed were clamoring for relief. To silence these 
angry voices, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act and de- 
clared "general warrants" illegal. 

The Townshend Acts. — News of the repeal of the hate- 
ful act was received in America with public rejoicing. But 
hardly was this over before word came that the colonists' 
sympathetic friend, Pitt, had been forced by illness to retire 



156 



OUR .COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




Londoners Celebrating the Repeal of the Stamp Act 
with a Mock Burial Procession 



from political life. A series of laws was now enacted which 
takes its name from Charles Townshend, Chancellor of the 
Exchequer. One of them commanded the New York As- 
sembly to provide for the maintenance of the British sol- 
diers stationed there, and to pass no further legislation until 
this had been done. Another act provided for the creation 
at Boston of a commission to supervise the enforcement of 
the Trade Laws. A third imposed a small tax on such ar- 
ticles in common use as glass, paper, red and white lead and 
tea. The object was to obtain funds not only for the main- 
tenance of troops in the colonies, but also to pay the salaries 
of the Crown officers so that they w^ould be independent of 
the colonial assemblies. But George III and his Tory ministry 
had another object besides raising revenue. The passage of 
the Townshend Acts would show that the Whigs had not 
forced any abandonment of the king's intention to bring the 
colonies into subjection through submission to taxation by 
Parliament. 

More colonial resistance. — Resentment in the colonics 



WHAT CAUSEf) THE COLONIES TO REVOLT 157 

rose to fury now. Again the assemblies passed resolutions of 
protest. The Massachusetts General Court took the lead and 
sent to the other assemblies a circular letter urging the co- 
operation of all the colonies in an effort to force a repeal 
of these new acts. Angered by this, George III threatened 
to compel the General Court to adjourn until it would re- 
scind its action. The speaker, James Otis, replied defiantly : 
"We are asked to rescind, are we? Let Great Britain re- 
scind her measures or the colonies are lost to her forever." 
Not only was the General Court dissolved, but because they 
had endorsed the action of Massachusetts, the assemblies in 
Georgia, South Carolina and Maryland also were forced to 
adjourn. 

As before, the colonists boycotted British-made goods. 
Solemn pledges were taken to "eat nothing, drink nothing, 
wear nothing" from England. They felt confident that by 
such means they could arouse the merchants and working 
classes, and through them force Parliament to give up any 
further attempt to enforce the Trade and Navigation Acts. 
Their hopes, however, were only partly realized. Parlia- 
ment repealed all the import duties except one of threepence 
(six cents) a pound on tea. Unless the Navigation Acts 
were vigorously enforced this would not amount to more 
than a few hundred pounds a year. More "redcoats," as 
the British soldiers were called, were sent to America to 
uphold the king's officers. 

Acts of violence. — Nearly tw^o years before. Governor 
Hutchinson, of Massachusetts, had reported that "many of 
the common people have been in a frenzy and have talked of 
dying for their liberties, and have spoken and printed what 
is highly criminal." The presence of the redcoats was a 
constant irritation, and exhibitions of ill feeling were fre- 
quent. 

On March 5, 1770, a riot occurred in Boston. For some 
time boys and young men had been in the habit of taunting 



158 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



the soldiers on duty there by calling them "lobster backs" 
and had even snowballed them. On this night a quarrel 
started which ended with the soldiers firing into a crowd 
and killing several persons. The "Boston Massacre," as the 
afifair was called, aroused the people from New Hampshire 
to Georgia as had nothing before. Samuel Adams began 




Tiie "Boston Massacre" 



organizing a committee of correspondence to "state the rights 
of the colonists and of this province in particular, as men and 
Christians and as subjects ; and to communicate and publish 
the same to the several towns, and to the world as the sense 
of this town ; with the infringements and violations thereof, 
that have been, or from time to time may be made." 

In North Carolina a pitched battle occurred near the 
Alamance River (1771) between small farmers of the up- 
land district, who had assembled to protest against exorbi- 
tant taxes and the extortionate action of the courts, and a 
thousand militiamen commanded by Governor Tryon. The 
farmers, who were called "Regulators," were defeated, of 



WHAT CAUSED THE COLONIES TO REVOLT 



159 



course, but not until twenty of their number had been killed. 
Later seven of the leaders of the Regulators were hanged 
as outlaws. 

The Rhode Islanders burned a naval vessel used by the 
king's officers in search of smugglers. 

The tea difficulties. — King George and his ministers 
knew the American thrift and eye for a bargain, so the next 
move was calculated to give the appearance of advantage to 
the colonists. They arranged with the East India Company 
to put tea on sale in America at a lower price, even after the 
tax was paid, than what that smuggled from Holland could 
be bought for. By this trick they hoped to be able to estab- 
lish the right of taxation. Many of the merchants to whom 
the tea was consigned refused, through sympathy or fear, to 
receive it, and the captains of the tea vessels had the choice 
of either landing their cargoes and placing them in storage 
or of taking them back to England. 

In December, 1773, several vessels laden with tea arrived 
in Boston harbor. Here the merchants were ready to re- 
ceive the tea. A town meeting was called to find means of 
preventing it from 
being landed. Just 
at dusk when the 
meeting was break- 
ing up with Samuel 
Adams' last sentence 
ringing in every 
one's ears — "This 
meeting can do no 
more to save the 
country" — a band of 
about fifty persons 
dressed like Indians 



was seen running to- 
ward the wharf. 



^'M 


I^^^^S 




■ 


jjss^^^^s^Si^K 



From an old print 

The Boston Tea Party 



160 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

While a large and approving crowd looked on, the pretend- 
ing red men boarded the vessels, ripped open the tea chests 
and dumped nearly a hundred thousand dollars' worth of tea 
into the harbor. Encouraged by Boston's boldness and suc- 
cess, the citizens of New York and Charleston also threw 
consignments of tea into their harbors, and those of Ann- 
apolis actually fired on a tea ship. 

The "Intolerable Acts." — When the news of these "Tea 
Parties" reached King George he resolved to put his taxation 
policy in operation by military force. As Boston had been 
the storm center of resistance, it was to be smothered into 
silence, and become an object lesson for rebels elsewhere. 
In 1774, at the king's behest, Parliament passed a series of 
laws, known in America as the "Intolerable Acts." They 
were as follows : 

(1) The "Boston Port Bill," ordering the port of Boston 
closed to all commerce until the destroyed tea should be 
paid for. 

(2) The "Regulating Act," which provided that judges 
and sheriffs in Massachusetts should be appointed and paid 
by the governor; and forbade the holding of town meetings 
— "those hotbeds of disloyalty" — without permission of the 
governor. 

(3) The "Quartering Act," compelling the citizens to fur- 
nish the soldiers with food and lodging in their homes. 
Under this law soldiers and other royal officials accused of 
killing citizens in the performance of duty were to be sent 
to Nova Scotia or England for trial. 

(4) The "Quebec Act," passed to conciliate the Cana- 
dians, transferred to the Province of Quebec all the region 
west of the Alleghany Mountains and north of the Ohio 
River. Within the whole territory the established church 
was to be the Roman Catholic. 

To enforce these laws General Thomas Gage was sent to 
Boston as military governor with orders to send any rebel- 
lious persons to England for trial, especially Samuel Adams. 



WHAT CAUSED THF. COLONIES TO REVOLT 



161 



The crisis in the colonies. — ^^'hen news of these acts 
reached the colonists the spirit of defiance rose higher and 
higher. Although they were aimed directly at Boston, all 
the colonies realized that if the Massachusetts city was 
forced to yield, the cause of liberty was lost. The day on 
which the Boston Port Bill went into efifect was observed in 
Virginia as a day of prayer and in Philadelphia as a day of 
movirning. At the suggestion of Virginia intercolonial com- 
mittees of correspondence were organized to direct the 
struggle, and they did much to keep alive the spirit of re- 
sistance. The Virginia Assembly also proposed that Massa- 
chusetts send out invitations to a continental congress. 

The First Continental Congress. — In September, 1774, 
delegates from 
twelve colonies met 
in the Carpenters' 
Hall, Philadelphia, 
and organized the 
First Continental 
Congress. Georgia 
sent word that while 
she would send no 
delegates she would 
concur in any action 
the Congress might 
take. After much 
discussion the dele- 
gates drew up and 
sent to the king a 
"Dec la ration of 
Rights and Griev- 
ances." This was a 

^ _ ^ The Carpenters' Hall at Philadelphia 

Obnoxious Acts of 

the government and a denial of the right of Parliament to 




162 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

levy taxes on the colonies or legislate for their internal 
affairs. It demanded that the colonists be allowed to hold 
peaceable meetings, to petition the British Government for 
redress of grievances, to be secure in the right of trial by 
jury, and to be freed from the insult of a standing army in 
time of peace. 

The Congress also passed a "Non-Importation Agree- 
ment" declaring a complete boycott of British-made goods. 
This was enforced by local committees, who sometimes 
brought recalcitrant shopkeepers into line by the application 
of a coat of tar and feathers. 

Conciliation proposed for America, — When the doings 
of the First Continental Congress became known in Lon- 
don the ministry saw the necessity of conciliation. The 
prime minister, Lord North, put through Parliament a bill 
which freed from taxation all colonies making grants 
toward the expenses of the British Empire. But it was 
too late. Had king and Parliament listened to the great 
commoner, Edmund Burke, years before, when he said : 
"The question with me is not whether you have the right 
to render your people miserable, but whether it is not to 
your interests to keep them happy. It is not what a law- 
yer tells me I may do, but what humanity, justice and 
reason tell me I OUGHT to do," — the xA.merican colonies 
might still be the most brilliant jewel in the British crown. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. By what right did such colonies as Massachusetts and Virginia 

claim the land west of the Alleghany Mountains? Trace on 
a map in a general way the "Proclamation Line" of George 
HI. What was the western frontier in 1770? Is there a west- 
ern frontier to-day? 

2. In the middle of the eighteenth century, which was the more 

powerful in the British Government, the king or the Parlia- 
ment? King George III was very unpopular in England as 
well as in America. Why? State clearly why William Pitt, 




n Province of P 

Florida 



□ Pro>,nce of I I Hudson Bay 

No^a Scot« Compan_y-5 Ternton 



□ TV I. ii-t^jr^ -- .11. I I Territory claimed by [he soulhcri 

T>„r.«, United Colony, v^th Cdonie/onder ihe^ongmal grant 

the l,m^5 «tabli.hed ^ the ^ S ^J 

RoyaJ Proclamation of 1763 | | ^^^ ^^^ Indians 



Ulcrnlory claimea Dv I 
under their original grants, but 
placed under jurisdiction of Quebec 
by the Quebec Act 



WHAT CAUSED THE COLONIES TO REVOLT 163 

the prime minister of the party in power, so boldly denounced 
King George IH. 

3. At the close of the Seven Years' War King George decided to 

keep a standing army in America. Why? How did the king 
propose to pay for the expense of this army? 

4. What were the Obnoxious Acts? What was the Stamp Act? 

How did the king attempt to enforce these acts? 

5. State some of the ways in which the colonists expressed their 

indignation against the king. 

6. It is well to remember that the English colonists in America 

expressed their fury and indignation against the king of Eng- 
land, not against the English people, as the people in England 
were not responsible for oppressive taxation measures. In- 
deed, King George was oppressing Englishmen in England as 
well as Englishmen in America. Note that President Wood- 
row Wilson made a similar distinction between the people of 
Germany and the autocratic government of Germany when 
our country entered the Great War. What was the purpose of 
the Townshend Acts? 

7. King George was determined to establish the right of England 

to tax the colonies without their representation in the British 
Parliament. How did he proceed to do this? Note that colo- 
nial resistance against the king began primarily with the mer- 
chants, not the farmers. 

8. Why was the First Continental Congress called, and what did it 

do ? What was the effect in London ? 

9. Name some of the influential friends of the colonists in the Brit- 

ish Parliament. Make a list of the most prominent men in 
the colonies who resisted the king. 
10. Did any other European country allow its colonial possessions 
as much freedom as England did her American colonics in the 
eighteenth century? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. The "Rotten Boroughs" in England about 1775. 

2. George III, the last king to rule the Thirteen Colonies. 

REFERENCES 

1. Spark's The Men Who Made the Nation, Chapters I and II. 

2. John Fiske's The American Revolution, Vol. I, pp. 23-24, 39-40, 

65-72, 82-92, 95-97. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE COLONISTS DECLARE THEIR 
INDEPENDENCE 



Beginning of hostilities. — While the colonies awaited a 
reply to their "Declaration of Rights and Grievances" prep- 
arations for defense went steadily forward. The militia 
was strengthened, and small companies of men, who were 
called "minnte men" because they were to be ready to re- 
spond at a moment's notice, began drilling on the village 
greens. Powder and other munitions were being stored at 
convenient places. 

The British, too, were getting ready for trouble, for the 
Ministry had declared Massachusetts in a state of rebel- 
lion. Large reinforce- 
ments had been sent 
to General Gage and 
a strong fleet had 
been stationed at Bos- 
ton. With a view to 
defense, if worse 
came to worse, re- 
doubts had been 
thrown up at all the 
approaches to the city. 
General Gage de- 
cided the time had 
come to put a stop to 
tlic warlike activities 
of the Massachusetts 

])co])le by confiscating 
Old Colonial Powder House at ,, . .,. 

Williamsburg, Virginia ^heir military stores. 

164 




COLONISTS DECLARE THEIR INDEPENDENCE 



165 



Knowing that they had a large supply at Concord, twenty 
miles from the city, on the night of April 18, 1775, he 
sent a detachment of eight hundred regulars to seize it. 
The patriots had been expecting this move and had ar- 
ranged to have the departure of the soldiers signaled across 
the river to Charlestown by lanterns hung in a church tower. 
Two of their number who were waiting for the signal then 
mounted their horses and galloped away to warn the people 
along the road that "the regulars are coming." 

First bloodshed at Lexington and Concord. — When 
the British soldiers reached Lexington shortly after sun- 
rise, they found a company of minute men, armed with 




Photo trom Underwood & Underwood 



A Recent Celebration of Paul Revere's Ride 



"So through the night rode Paul Revere; 

And so through the night went his cry of alarm 

To every Middlesex village and farm, 

A cry of defiance and not oi fear, 

A voice in the darkness, a knock at thi' dour, 

And a word that shall echo forcverniore!" 



166 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



muskets and powder horns, drawn up on the village common 
to dispute their march to Concord. "Ye rebels, disperse!" 
shouted Major Pitcairn, who was in command of the British 
troops. The patriots stood fast, and a moment later a vol- 
ley felled eight of them to the 
ground. Giving a cheer the regu- 
lars marched on, and several 
hours later reached Concord 
where, after stifif resistance, they 
destroyed what stores had not 
been removed. By this time 
neighboring towns had been 
aroused, and minute men were 
hastening toward the road the 
British must take back to Bos- 
ton. All along the way the 
"redcoats" had to encounter a 
merciless fire from behind boul- 
ders, trees and stone walls. The 
retreat became a rout and when 
at last they were halted under 
the protecting guns of the war- 
ships lying at anchor off Charles- 
town, over one-third of their 
number had been killed or 
wounded. And thus ended the first battle in the war which 
was to bring independence to the American colonies. 

The Second Continental Congress.— On May 10, 1775. 
while the country was in a state of excitement over the start- 
ling news that General Gage was besieged in Boston by the 
militiamen, the Second Continental Congress convened at 
Philadelphia. Delegates were present from all thirteen col- 
onies this time, but the six provinces organized by Great 
Britain from her recently acquired French and Spanish ter- 
ritory remained loyal to the king. The Congress commis- 




The Concord Minute 
Man 



COLONISTS DECLARE THEIR INDEPENDENCE 167 

sioned Colonel George Washington to be "General and Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the Armies of the United Colonies" and 
ordered him to proceed to Boston and take charge of the 
military operations there. It called on the colonies to fur- 
nish twenty thousand militiamen and arranged to issue 
three million dollars' worth of "continental currency." Dur- 
ing the entire Revolutionary War this Congress was the 
only central government the colonies had, and yet, although 
its power was limited, it was able to force Great Britain to 
recognize the independence of her former provinces. 

Public sentiment. — A large part of the people were still, 
at heart, loyal subjects of King George. They felt that they 
needed the protection of the British Government and, like 
Washington, "abhorred the idea of independence." The 
general belief was that the king .was influenced by his min- 
isters, who were the real oppressors of America, and that 
if he really understood the situation the colonies would se- 
cure self-government. There were radicals, not a few, who, 
like Samuel Adams, rejoiced that the British had com- 
menced hostilities, and hoped that the outcome w^ould be 
complete independence. Most of the colonists, however, 
regarded the struggle as rebellion against tyranny, similar 
to what had occurred more than once in the history of the 
mother country. They saw nothing traitorous in Patrick 
Henry's stirring appeal : "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet 
as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery ? For- 
bid it. Almighty God ! I know not what course others may 
take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death." 

Many friends of the king in the colonies. — Probably 
one-third of the colonial population was loyal to the British 
Government. These Loyalists, or Tories, as they were 
called, included those whose positions and fortunes would 
be endangered by a revolution — royal officials, clergy of the 
Church of England and persons of wealth and leisure who 
had everything to lose and nothing to gain by a war. They 



168 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



blamed all the trouble with England on "low demagogues," 
and sympathized with the governers who, in all the colonies 
except Connecticut and Rhode Island, had tried to suppress 
those "worthless fellows" stirring up rebellion. Unfortu- 
nately for the Tories, the governors fled from their posts 
soon after the battle of Lexington, and "Committees of 
Safety" were set up in their place. 

The patriots persecute the Tories. — The patriot masses 
were intolerant and a Tory's person and property were 

in constant jeopardy, 
especially if he were sus- 
pected of giving aid and 
information to the Brit- 
ish. Tory homes had 
rifle balls fired through 
their windows. Tory 
clergymen found their 
pulpit doors nailed fast. 
Tory farmers had their 
cattle painted fantastic 
colors. Sometimes the 
mobs did not stop even 
with these outrages, but 
would seize the men 
themselves, treat them to 
a coat of tar and feath- 
ers, and then hoist them 
on liberty poles where 
they could be publicly mocked. So outrageously were the 
Loyalists treated that fully thirty thousand of them left 
of their own accord to seek new homes in Canada, Nova 
.Scotia, the British West Indies and England. 

The soldiers of the Revolution. — Seldom has a war of 
such importance as the Revolution been so poorly managed 
bv both sides. The British Government found the cause so 




From an old print 

A Tory Come to Justice 



COLONISTS DECLARE THEIR INDEPENDENCE 169 



unpopular that it was difficult to enlist enough of the right 
kind of soldiers at home. It consequently resorted to hiring 
thousands of Hessian soldiers from the Prince of Hesse, and 
other rulers of small German states who sold the services 
of their subjects for military un- 
dertakings. These mercenaries, 
however, were of small value, 
for they showed no spirit, fight- 
ing as they were in behalf of a 
foreign king for whom they 
cared nothing. Many of the 
British officers sent over were 
incompetent, and it is possible 
that some who were Whigs were 
not eager to win victories which 
would entrench a Tory Govern- 
ment in power at home. All in 
all, the morale of the British 
army sent to America was ex- 
tremely low. 

When Washington took com- 
mand, he was furnished about 
sixteen thousand .troops who 
were in the service of their re- 
spective colonies for only a few 
months by voluntary enlistment. 
They were raw undisciplined 
soldiers whose only experience had been frontier Indian 
fighting. While many had enlisted out of patriotism, not 
a few had been attracted by the bounties offered. When 
pay was tardy or their terms had expired, large numbers 
would sometimes leave for their homes in the midst of a 
campaign. Washington desired to enroll an army of per- 
haps thirty thousand men for several years' service and 
to make it strictly responsible to the Continental Congress. 




A Hessian Soldier 



170 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



Because of local jealousies, however, the colonial assem- 
blies were unwilling to grant Congress this power. 

In all, about one-fourth of the man power of the colonies 
served in the colonial armies — two hundred thousand for a 
few months, and two hundred and fifty thousand for about 
a year. A small number of Indians and negroes werq also 
enlisted but they proved unsatisfactory. 

The first year of war. — B}^ June 1, 1775, General Gage 
had ten thousand men in Boston. In the camp outside was 




Battle of Bunker HUl 
In reality this battle was fought on Breed's Hill through accident 

a besieging force of sixteen thousand militiamen, untrained 
and poorly armed. In those days Boston was surrounded 
by water except for a narrow isthmus which the British had 
fortified. Over on the Charlestown shore two hills over- 
looked the city, and on the south rose Dorchester Heights. 
The colonials decided to fortify one of the Charlestowai 
hills, so that from it later they could bombard the British, 
if necessary. On the night of June sixteenth a small force 
under Colonel Prescott took possession of Breed's Hill, and 



COLONISTS DECLARE THEIR INDEPENDENCE 171 

threw up low breastworks. The next day General Gage sent 
three thousand regulars to take the place. The British 
charged the hill twice in the face of a murderous musketry 
fire, and were repulsed with a heavy loss. Their third at- 
tempt met with success, for the colonials had used up all 
their ammimition, and a British flag floated over Breed's 
Hill. At a cost of a thousand in killed and wounded Eng- 
land had learned that the raw colonials would stand their 
ground against a great force of trained English regulars. 

Washington assumes command of the Continental 
Army. — Early in July on Cambridge Common, under an 
old elm tree which until recently was still standing, Wash- 
ington took command of the "Continental Army," as the 
colonial forces were thenceforth called. The two pressing 
needs of this army were supplies and training. The battle 
of Bunker Hill had been lost for lack of ammunition. The 
capture a few weeks before of Crown Point and Ticonder- 
oga, the two fortresses guarding the portage between Lake 
Champlain and the Hudson Valley would soon yield a large 
store of supplies. 

The French in Canada remain loyal to the king. — 
During the winter of 1776 two expeditions were sent to 
capture Quebec. One of them toiled through the wilds of 
northern Maine ; the other took the Lake Champlain route. 
There had been hopes that the French would join the 
Americans in order to rid themselves of British rule, but 
these were doomed to disappointment. The attack was made 
in a blinding snow-storm and the Continentals were defeated 
with the loss of one of their generals and several thousand 
men. All further efforts to reduce Canada were then al)an- 
doned. 

The British leave Boston. — Meanwhile, Washington 
had been drilling his soldiers and hauling across the coun- 
try the cannon and other munitions captured at Ticonder- 
oga. By March. 1776, he was ready to strike a blow at 



172 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



the British in Boston, now commanded by General Howe. 
While he led them to think by a feint that he was about 

to make an at- 
tack on the Cam- 
bridge side. 
Washington sent 
a strong force 
to occupy Dor- 
chester Heights. 
This left the 
British no ave- 
nue of escape 
except by water. 
Threatened with 
bombardment, 
Howe decided 
to evacuate the 
place. With all 
his soldiers, and 
nearly a thou- 
sand Loyalists, 
he sailed away 
to Halifax 
(March 17, 1776), and the British flag never again floated 
over Boston. 

Clashes between patriots and Tories in the South. — 
The first skirmishes in the South were clashes between 
opposing bands of patriots and Tories, but on June 1, 1776, 
word reached Charleston that a large British fleet was ap- 
proaching the city from the north. With feverish haste 
the patriots began strengthening their defenses. Colonel 
William Moultrie, of the local militia, decided to erect on 
Sullivan's Island in the lower harbor a fortress of palmetto 
logs and sand. By means of this he hoped to keep the 
Britisli from actually attacking the city. It was four weeks 




Boston and Vicinitj^ 



COLONISTS DECLARE THEIR INDEPENDENCE 



173 



(June twenty-eighth) before the fleet moved forward to 
reduce Fort SuUivan, as the new works were called. Here 
Moultrie had posted his small command with a few cannon 
and a limited supply of ammunition. Not once during the 
engagement, which lasted all day, did the British succeed in 
making a landing on the island. While the battle raged the 
flagstaff on the parapet was shattered by cannon shot, and 




Sergeant Jasper Plants the Colors on the Parapet of Fort Sullivan 

the colors fell to the beach. Immediately one of the pa- 
triots. Sergeant William Jasper, leaped down and in the face 
of a murderous fire from the enemy's guns, rescued the 
flag and planted it once more over the little fort. At the 
end of the battle Fort Moultrie, as the place was thereafter 
called, was still held by the patriots. So costly had been the 
attempt to take Charleston that the British gave up the 
effort and sailed away. For two years after this the South- 
ern States escaped any further hostilities, other than local 
clashes between irregular bands of Tories and patriots. 



174 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

Political changes. — Rhode Island and Connecticut 
alone had governors elected by the people, and who were 
sympathetic in the struggle against Great Britain. After 
the governors of the other colonies had fled or been deposed, 
committees of safety provided for the election of colonial 
congresses by which the colonies might be governed until 
such a time as their grievances should be redressed and 
peace restored. In the interim these congresses had to levy 
the taxes, make laws, raise military forces and choose dele- 
gates to the Continental Congress. 

George III had shown an obstinate temper in refusing to 
look at the petition from which the colonists had expected so 
much. F'urthermore^ he had issued a proclamation on Au- 
gust 25, 1775, calling them traitors. When this news 
reached America the idea of complete independence took 
hold rapidly and the need of some kind of permanent gov- 
ernment was felt. The patriots of New Hampshire took 
the initiative by drawing ug^ a constitution for th^msel\j,e|: 
and, one by one, the other colonies did the same., Vernipi]^ 
seceded from New York and organized a ''state" g<5V€irnj 
ment of its own (1777), All 'these constittitions, e^^l 
those of Pennsylvania and Georgia, provided for legi^l.'iwrei 
consisting of two houses — a senate corresportding to 'the 
former colonial council, and an assembly. Experience with 
royal governors had inspired the people with such fear of 
them that, except in New York and Pennsylvania, the gov- 
ernors of the new states were to be elected by the legisla- 
tures and vested with little real authority. The right to vote 
and hold office was restricted to propertjj^ owners. In 
South Carolina the constitution provided that to be eligible 
for the governorship one must possess property worth ten 
thousand pounds ; in New Jersey, for a few years, women 
were allowed to vote. 

The Declaration of Independence. — In those exciting 
times pubhc meetings were held freciuently at which fiery 



COLONISTS DECLARE THEIR INDEPENDENCE 



175 



speeches were made by local orators, and resolutions calcu- 
lated to keep up enthusiasm were passed. In May, 1775, 
on receiving tidings of the battle of Lexington, a committee 
of patriots in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, since 
known as the "Mecklenburg Convention," assembled at 
Charlotte and passed ^/>r.^"- • t ^ j: i 







JUft^ -^^KJW^. 



resolutions declaring 
a complete with- 
drawal from the 
British Empire. 
This was the first 
public avowal of in- 
dependence, and its 
resolute tone stif- 
fened the resistance 
in many widely sep- 
arated communities. 
When the news 
reached the colonies 
that King George 
had hired thousands 
of Hessian soldiers 
and prepared a fleet 
with which to put 
down the "rebellion" 
in America, Virginia instructed her delegates in Congress 
to move a formal declaration of independence. North Caro- 
lina had already authorized her delegates to vote for such a 
resolution. On May fifteenth, Congress adopted a resolu- 
tion advising the colonies to set up independent govern- 
ments. On June seventh, Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, 
introduced the following resolutions, which were adopted on 
July second : 

That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be. 
free and independent States ; that they are absolved from all 






C^z 



»'V*e-*«.rt«'^ 



&. 



Facsimile of the Signatures to the 
Mecklenburg Resolutions 



176 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 






allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political con- 
nection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and 
ought to be, totally dissolved ; 

That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual 
measures for forming foreign alliances ; 

That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted 
to the respective colonies for their consideration and appro- 
bation. 

Thomas Jefferson writes the Declaration of Independ- 
ence. — A committee of five, headed by Thomas. Jefferson, 
of Virginia, was appointed to draft the resolutions. On' 

June 28, 1776, this committee of- 
fered its report to Congress, then 
in session in the old Province 
House in Philadelphia, since called 
Independence Hall. With few 
changes the document, as drafted 
by Jefferson, was adopted on July 
4, 1776. As soon as the vote was - 
taken couriers were sent in all 
directions to spread the news, 
which was hailed everywhere with 
enthusiasm. Bells rang and bon- 
fires burned. The patriots gath- 
ered in the town halls to listen to 
orators declaim on the meaning 
of the great event, and in the churches to render thanks to 
the Almighty for this dispensation. The leaden statues of 
the king which had stood in some of the cities were pulled 
down and melted into bullets. 

This Declaration of Independence makes, not one na- 
tion, but thirteen nations. — The Declaration of Inde- 
pendence did not make a nation of the thirteen colonies, but 
instead thirteen separate nations, each jealous of its own 
rights. The need of union until their independence should 
be acknowledged by Great Britain was recognized by all. 




The "Liberty Bell" in the 

Old Pennsylvania Province 

House 



COLONISTS DECLARE THEIR INDEPENDENCE 177 

Benjamin Franklin expressed it tersely thus, while the docu- 
ment was being signed, "We must all hang together, or most 
assuredly we shall all hang separately." 

The draft of the Declaration as finally adopted : 

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE* • 

lu Congress, July 4, i/'/6 

The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States 

of America : 

When, in the course of human events, it becomes neces- 
sary for one people to dissolve the political bands which 
have connected them with another, and to assume among 
the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal station to 
which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle 
them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires 
that they should declare the causes which impel them to the 
separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are 
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with 
certain unalienable Rights, that among them are Life, Lib- 
erty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these 
rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving 
their just powers from the consent of the governed ; that 
whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of 
these ends it is the Riglit of the People to alter or to abol- 
ish it, and to institute new Government, laying its founda- 
tion on such principles and organizing its powers in such 
form as to them shall seem most likely to efifect their Safety 
and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Govern- 
ments long established should not be changed for light and 
transient causes ; and accordingly all experience hath shown, 
that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are 
sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms 
to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of 
abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Ob- 
ject, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Des- 
potism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such 
Government, and to provide new Guards for their future 



•The Declaration of Independence should be read and discussed in class. 



178 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these Col- 
onies ; and such is now the necessity which constrains them 
to alter their former Systems of Government. The history 
of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated 
injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the 
establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To 
prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World. 

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome 
and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his 




Independence Hall 



From an old print 



Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing impor- 
tance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent 
should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has ut- 
terly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass 
other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of peo- 
ple, unless those people would relinquish the right of Rep- 
resentation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them 
and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together 
legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and dis- 
tant from the depository of their Public Records, for the 
sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance of his meas- 
ures. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, 
for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights' 
of the people. He has refused for a long time, after such 



CCJLOXISTS DECLARE TJIIIIR INUEPENDEXCE 179 

dissolutions, to cause others to be elected ; whereby the 
Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned 
to the People at large for their exercise ; the State remaining 
in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from 
without, and convulsions within. He has endeavored to 
prevent the population of these States, for that purpose ob- 
structmg the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners ; re- 
fusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, 
and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands. 
He has obstructed the Administrations of Justice, by refus- 
ing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers. 
He has made judges dependent on his Will alone, for the 
tenure of their ofBces, and the amount and payments of their 
salaries. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and 
sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our People, and eat 
out their substance. He has kept among us, in times of 
peace. Standing Armies without the consent of our Legis- 
lature. He has affected to render the Military independent 
cf and superior to the Civil Power. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdic- 
tion foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our 
laws ; giving his Assent to their acts of pretended legisla- 
tion : For quartering large bodies of armed troops among 
us. For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment 
for any murders which they should commit on the Inhab- 
itants of these States. For cutting oft' our trade with all 
])arts of the world. For imposing taxes on us without our 
consent. For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits 
of Trial by Jury. For transporting us beyond Seas to be 
tried for pretended oft'ences. For abolishing the free Sys- 
tem of English Laws in a neighboring province, establish- 
ing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its 
Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit 
instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these 
Colonies. For taking away our Charters, abolishing our 
most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the forms 
of our Governments. For suspending our own Legislature, 
and declaring themselves invested with Power to Legislate 
for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abdicated Govern- 
ment here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging 
war against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our 
Coast, burned our towns and destroyed the lives of our peo- 



180 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

pie. He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign 
mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and 
tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and 
perfidy scarcely parallelled in the most barbarous ages, and 
totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation. He has 
constrained our Fellow Citizens taken Captive on the High 
Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the 
executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall them- 




Room in Which the Declaration of Independence Was Signed 

selves by their Hands. He has excited domestic insurrec- 
tions among us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhab- 
itants of our frontiers the merciless Indian Savages, whose 
known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of 
all ages, sexes, and conditions. In every stage of these Op- 
pressions we have petitioned for Redress in the most hum- 
ble terms. Our repeated petitions have been answered only 
by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus 
marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to 
be the Ruler of a Free People. 

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British 
Brethren. We have warned them from time to time of the 
attempts l)y their legislature to extend an unwarrantable 



COLONISTS DECLARE THEIR INDEPENDENCE 181 

jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the cir- 
cumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We 
have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and 
we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred 
to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably in- 
terrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have 
been deaf to the 

voice of justice and /y^ y Jt'/ 

consanguinity. We ^<^;^.^^^^^^^ 

must, therefore, ac- y""^/ \.r-=^^ j 

(luiesce in the neces- A^„,^^^^^ 1_ 
sity which denounces ^-^ f\ 

our Separation, and Facsimile of the First Signatures to the 
liold them, as we hold Declaration of Independence 

tlio t-act r>f mniit-Jtirl I"''" Haticock Said that he would write his 

me resi OI mankina. ;,^„,^, .^ ^,,3^ ^^^^ George could read it 

Enemies in War. in without any spectacles 

Peace Friends. 

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States 
of America, in General Congress. Assembled, appealing to 
the Supreme Judge of the World for the rectitude of our in- 
tentions, do, in the Name, and by atithority of the good 
people of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That 
these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, Free 
and Independent States ; that they are absolved from all 
Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political con- 
nection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and 
ought to be, totally dissolved ; and that as Free and Inde- 
pendent States, they have Full power to levy War, conclude 
Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce and to do all 
other acts and Things which Independent States may of 
right do. And for the support of this declaration with a 
firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we 
mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and 
our Sacred Honor. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. Read Longfellow's poem entitled. "Paul Revere's Ride." Is it 
true to the facts of history? Is it true to the spirit of history? 

I. What did the First Continental Congress do? What did the 
Second Continental Congress accomplish ? 

Z. Public opinion in the colonies regarding separation from the 
mother country was divided, some of the leading men like 



182 OUR COUXTR^'S HISTORY 

Washington being violently opposed lo the idea of independ- 
ence. How do you explain this? Perhaps as many as one- 
third of the population in the colonies, known as Tories, 
remained loj'al to King George. What classes of people 
composed the Tories? 

4. Even in England the Revolutionary War was unpopular. Why? 
Keep clearlj' in mind that the best people in the British Par- 
liament were friends of the colonists, and many of the best 
people in the colonies had no thought of separating from the 
mother country, until King George drove them to separation. 

.'. Make a list of the patriots, otherwise known as Radicals, who 
entertained the idea of independence, and who were glad when 
England began hostilities. 

6. Write in your note-book the things King George did which im- 

pelled the colonists to turn their thoughts toward separation 
and independence. 

7. Was the Battle of Bunker Hill a victory or a defeat for the 

Americans? In what sense was it a victory for both sides? 

8. What was the purpose of the Americans in sending two expedi- 

tions to try to capture Quebec? 

9. Why do you suppose General Howe left the city of Boston in- 

stead of trying to defend and hold it? 

10. Learn the names of the men who were appointed as a committee 

to prepare a declaration of independence. Who did most of 
the actual work in preparing and writing it? 

11. As you read the Declaration of Independence, you will observe 

that there are three main parts or divisions. What are they? 
Note that the personal pronoun "he." referring to King 
George, occurs eighteen times, thus indicating the grievances 
of the Americans were primarily against the king, and only 
secondarily against the English people. 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUtlV 

1. The battles of Lexington and Concord. 

1. Paul Revere's ride. 

3. Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams. 

REFERF.NCES 

1. Hart's Camps and Firesides of the Revolution, pp. 257-260. 

2. Fiske's The American Revolution, Vol. I. pp. 120-126, 133-156. 

3. Hart's Source Book, pp. 147-149. 

4. KIson's Side Lights on .hnericnn History, Vol. I, Chapter 1. 



CHAPTER X\' 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR 



The Battle of Long Island. — New York City was a most 
desirably strateg^ic point. If the British could get posses- 
sion of it, they could send an army up the Hudson to co- 
operate with one coming from Canada by way of the St. 
Lawrence and easily retake Ticonderoga. This would cut 
off New Eng- 
land from the 
rest of the col- 
onies and bring 
the war to a 
quick end. The 
Revolutionary 
leaders then 
would suffer the 
usual treatment 
accorded "reb- 
els." 

Anticipating 
L h a t ( i e n e r a 1 
Howe would at- 
tempt to carr\' 
out such a plan, 
Washington 
moved his army 

to New York City. He encamped a part of it on the west- 
ern end of Long Island, where Brooklyn Heights were 
fortified, as a defense to the city. Not long after the col- 
onies declared their inde]:)endence. General Howe landed 

183 




184 



OUR COUXTRVS HISTORY 







twenty 
Staten 
harbor 
moved 



2Pf Q: 

Scale of miles '^ 



Eastern Pennsylvania and 
Nortliern New Jersey 



thousand troops on 
Island in the lower 
In August this army 
over to Long Island 
and attacked and badly de- 
feated the eight thousand 
Americans posted there. Had 
he moved quickly Howe might 
have captured the whole 
force, but because of his delay 
Washington was able to with- 
draw safely to New York 
what remained of his army. 
He stated the truth when he 
wrote : "Our situation is truly 
distressing. The check our 
detachment has sustained has 
dispirited too great a propor- 
tion of our troops, and filled 
their minds with apprehen- 
sion and despair." Many of 
the soldiers whose terms had 
expired were, leaving for 
home and the untrained ones 
taking their ]:»laces were caus- 
ing great confusion. It was 
hopeless, under such condi- 
tions, to think of holding New 
^'ork after Howe had landed 
a ])art of his forces above the 
cilv. Washington, therefore, 
retreated toward the north 
and after suffering another 
defeat, crossed the Hudson 
into New Jersey. 



THl:: RKVOLLTIUXAin' WAR 



The retreat through New Jersey. -The situation looked 
dark, indeed, for the patriots. A strong detachment of 
regulars under Cornwallis, one of Howe's generals, was 
in close pursuit of Washington. Expecting the British to 
attack Philadelphia at any moment Congress had fled, leav- 
ing the direction of the war to the commander-in-chief. 
With a view of blocking the enemy's approach to Philadel- 
|)hia, Washington continued his flight across New Jersey, 
and by destroying all the bridges along the way succeeded 
in keeping well ahead. He had ordered General Charles 
Lee, who had been posted up the Hudson with a part of 
the Americans, to join him. \Mien Lee failed to appear, 
Washington retired into Pennsylvania rather than risk an- 
other engagement. To prevent Howe's army from cross- 
ing the Delaware he seized all the boats within a hundred 
miles. During this retreat a snow-storm swept over the re- 
gion and the Americans, many of whom lacked clothing and 
were barefooted, suffered intensely. ^Meanwhile, Howe, 
leaving small forces at Trenton and other convenient places 
to keep the "rebels" out of New Jersey, went back to New 
York. 

Washington surprises the Hessians at Trenton, — Un- 
less something was 
done to restore the 
spirits of the Ameri- 
cans, the States 
would be unable to 
supply their quotas 
of soldiers, so Wash- 
ington decided to at- 
tack some of these 
British detachments 
which Howe had left 
in New Jersey. On Christmas Eve, while the Hessians sta- 
tioned at Trenton were making merry, he recrossed the 




Washington Crossing the Delaware 



1S6 OUR COUXTin'S IllS'lOKV 

Delaware. A snow-storm was raging and the river was full 
of floating ice, yet in the darkness patriot pilots ferried the 
soldiers safely across in small boats. Early the next morning 
the merrymakers were surprised by a sudden attack and 
more than a thousand of them were taken prisoners. Corn- 
wallis hastened to Trenton, but while he delayed attacking 
the Americans they slipped away during the night for 
Princeton, forty miles to the east. Here another British 
force was met and defeated. Washington then withdrew 
into the hills of northern New Jersey and spent the rest of 
the winter drilling the large number of recruits which the 
news of his recent victories brought to the army. 

Timely aid of friends. — The patriot army was in a piti- 
able condition at this time. The soldiers, hungry, half-clad 
and often barefooted, were forced to endure long hours of 
drill in the freezing winter weather. Even the small pay 
promised them was delayed so that the suffering of their 
families added to the general misery. Naturally many pre- 
ferred to go home to work rather than to re-enlist when 
their terms expired. General Washington drew heavily on 
his private resources to rdleviate the suffering of his men. 
and j^ersuaded Robert ^lorris, a wealthy merchant of Phila- 
del]:»hia, to canvass the Quaker City for monc}-. In a short 
time A f orris was able to send him fifty thousand dollars, 
which went far toward relieving the immediate distress. 

Knowing the enmity between France and Great Britain. 
Congress had sent agents, one of whom was Benjamin 
Franklin, to the French Court to seek aid. Naturally a 
struggle for liberty would not appeal to such an autocratic 
monarch as Louis XVI; yet if he were sure the colonists 
would win, he might be induced to seize the opportunity 
of settling some old scores with England. Already Frank- 
lin had persuaded wealthy Frenchmen to furnish the colonies 
money and supplies on the sly. and the king was allowing 
the American navv to make use of French harbors. 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR 



187 



When the brave young Marquis de Lafayette made ready 
to join the patriot army across the Atlantic the king made 
no attempt to deter him. Baron Steuben, a distinguished 
mihtary engineer, also came over from France and at once 
l)egan training the Ameri- 
can army in the art of 
warfare. Other European 
countries likewise sent 
volunteers : Bavaria, Bar- 
on DeKalb, a close friend 
of Lafayette ; and far- 
away Poland, two l)ra\e 
officers in Pulaski and 
Kosciusko. To these 
cham])ions of their cause 
the people of the United 
.States owe a debt of 
much gratitude. 

The campaign of 1777. 
— As Washington had 
succeeded in heading olT 
Howe from Philadelphia 
by land, the British were forced to rind some other way to 
reach the city. Howe finally decided to sail around to 
Chesapeake Bay, land his troops and march overland and 
enter Philadelphia from the south. Congress was in session 
there again so Washington hastened to its defense. On Sep- 
tember 10. 1777. he engaged the British at Brandy wine 
Creek, just south of the city, and sustained a severe defeat. 
In a few weeks Howe's forces were in control not only of 
Philadelphia but also of the Delaware to the Bay, and his 
supply ships could approach in safety. 

The surrender of Burgoyne. — ^leanwhile the British 
were meeting with reverses in the North. The Ministry 
had decided at last that a wedge must be driven between 




l.afa\clU' 



188 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



New England and the Middle Colonies. Expeditions from 
Canada were to move down Lake Champlain and the Mo- 
hawk Valley and effect a junction with one sent by Howe 
from New York City. General Burgoyne, with ten thou- 
sand British regulars, 
Indians, Canadians and 
Loyalists, came south by 
way of Lake Champlain 
and took Ticonderoga. 
Soon after he entered 
the Hudson Valley, and 
then his troubles began. 
A foraging expedition 
sent into Vermont met 
Avith disaster. The 
"Green Mountain Boys," 
as the local militia was 
called, pounced upon it 
and killed or captured 
nine hundred of the 
thousand in the detach- 
ment. General St. Le- 
ger's army crossed over 
from Canada to Oswego 
and started down the 
Mohawk. Near Fort 
Stanwix, the present site 
of Rome, it was defeat- 
Howe failed to receive his orders 
to cooperate, so sent no reinforcements. Burgoyne's sup- 
plies were running low and with the Americans pressing 
him in front and on the flanks, he dared not advance nor 
retreat. Finally, on October 7, 1777, he attacked the enemy, 
now connnanded by General Gates, at Saratoga, and was 
defeated. Ten days later he was compelled to surrender to 



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THE RKX'OLUTIOXARV WAR 



189 



the despised "rebels" his entire force of five thousand offi- 
cers and men. 

The crisis of the Revolution. — Defeated at Brandywine 
Creek, Washington realized that he could no longer defend 
Philadelphia and withdrew to Valley Forge, twenty miles 
northwest of the city. The winter which followed marked 
the crisis of the Revolution. The condition of the soldiers in 




Uurinsj; the Winter al \'al!ev For2;e 



their log cabin camp was thus described by Lafayette in a 
letter : "The unfortunate soldiers were in want of almost 
everything ; they had neither coats, hats, shirts nor shoes ; 
their feet and legs froze until they became black. 
The army frequently remained whole days without pro- 
visions." Disease raged through the camj) and many died in 
their blankets lying on the frozen ground. The farmers 
around Philadelphia preferred to sell their products to the 
British who paid gold, to exchanging them for continental 
currency of doubtful value. The result was that Wash- 
ington's sup]:)lies had to be brought from far away and often 



190 



OUR COUXTRVS HISTORY 



on the backs of the men themselves, through great drifts 
of snow. And yet so staunch was the loyalty of the little 
army, and so thoroughly did they believe in their brave 
leader, that they would not desert him now, in his hour 
of affliction. 

Driven out of Philadelphia, Congress was in session at 
V'ork, l)ut many of its memljers did not attend. Some of 
them were mediocre men and allowed themselves to become 
dissatisfied with Washington's conduct of the war. They 

complained that 
he was too much 
inclined to re- 
treat. A conspir- 
acy was formed 
to supplant him 
with General 
Gates, who was 
enjoying the 
honor of having 
forced Burgoyne 
to surrender. As 
a matter of fact, 
the conspirators knew that the credit for the victory was 
largely due Generals Schuyler and Benedict Arnold, and 
that Gates arrived only shortly before the British surren- 
dered. Fortunately, they were in the minority and Wash- 
ington continued as commander-in-chief. 

The French Alliance. — When news of Burgoyne's sur- 
render reached l-"ur()])e the military advisers of Louis XVI 
became convinced that the Americans would win if they 
could only hold out long enough. Now was France's oppor- 
tunity for revenge. The humiliation she had suffered fif- 
teen years before when luigland deprived her of the vast 
empires Frenchmen had built up in America and India. 
could be satisfied. So in Februarv, 1778. Louis XVI en- 




Washington's Headquarur- at \'alley Forge 



THE REVOLUTIOXARV WAR 191 

tered into a treaty with the United States recognizing their 
independence and promising to come to their aid, should 
Great Britain declare war on France. As Louis well knew. 
George III would brook no such interference in his affairs : 
and, in fact, he immediately declared war on France. Well 
might the British Ministry view the situation with alarm. 
England now had a dual war on her hands. Besides, she- 
had so oft"ended Spain and Holland by her interference with 
neutral commerce that she might expect hostilities from them 
at any time. Two things happened. Parliament was induced 
by the Ministry to repeal all the Obnoxious Acts, and to oft'er 
the colonies representation in the House of Commons. It 
was too late, however, to win the colonies back. They had 
tested their strength and nothing but independence would 
now suffice. France kept her word by sending over an army 
to cooperate on land and a fleet to attack the British West 
Indies. 

British retreat to New York. — In the spring of 1778 
General Clinton, who had superseded General Howe, took 
command at Philadelphia. Alarmed by the report that a 
French fleet was on the way there, the Ministry ordered 
Clinton to evacuate the city and concentrate his full strength 
in New York. While on the march across New Jersey the 
British were attacked from the rear by Washington at 
Monmouth (June twenty-eighth). The Americans might 
have made a large capture of prisoners had General Lee not 
once more disobeyed orders. Glad to escape from a worse 
drubbing, the redcoats hurried on to New York with the 
Americans in close pursuit. Washington entrenched his 
army on the heights along the Low-er Hudson and kept 
watch lest another attempt be made to split the colonies in 
two. The activities of the enemy turned to skirmishing and 
the Americans more than held their own. 

Arnold's treason. — General Benedict Arnold had been 
amonsr the bravest and most devoted of \\'ashin£fton's offi- 



192 OUR COUXTRV'S HISTORY 

cers. His services at Saratoga had won for him such con 
fidence that he was entrusted with command of the fortress 
at West Point, where the United States Military Academy 
is now located. Yet he coveted more honors and was dis- 
appointed when Congress failed to promote him to a higher 
rank. Harassed by debts, Arnold finally yielded to a British 
ofifer of gold and a generalship in their army for the sur- 



^^^j'^z/'^ 








Facsimile- of F^art of the Incriminating Papers Found 
in Major .A.ndre's Boots 

render of West Point. General Clinton sent Major Andre 
from New York to conclude the arrangements. On his way 
back in the lonely "no man's land" between the British and 
American lines he was captured by three patriots. The in- 
criminating documents were found in his boots, and he was 
delivered over to W^ashington. Hearing that the plot had been 
discovered, Arnold succeeded in escaping to a British war- 
ship in the river. Andre Avas hanged as a spy. for Wash- 
ington refused to spare him unless the British would sur- 
render Arnold. After the war Arnold made his home in 
England, but his life was unhappy, for even there he was de- 
spised as a traitor. It is reported that when he was near 
death he asked to be dressed in his old American uniform, 



THE RKV0LL■T10XAR^■ WAR 193 

saying: "Let me die in my old .Vmerican uniform in which 
I fought my battles. God forgive me for ever putting on 
any other." 

British successes in the South. — For two years after 
the attempt of the British sciuadron to take Charleston 
there was no severe fighting on southern soil. The failure 
of their plans to win the war in the North caused the Min- 
istry to transfer operations to the South. Here, with a large 
Tory element among the planters, they could hope for suc- 
cess. On December 29, 1778, Savannah was compelled to 
surrender to a British fleet, and soon after settlements were 
captured as far inland as Augusta. Tn 1780 Charleston 
was besieged by the armies of Clinton and Cornwallis. The 
])atriots made a brave defense but, greatly outnumbered, 
were finally compelled to yield the city. Detachments of 
redcoats were now overrunning the whole neighboring 
country and it looked as though the entire South would be 
lost. Many faint-hearted patriots gave up the cause and took 
the oath of allegiance to King George. So confident of suc- 
cess was Clinton that he went l)ack to New York, leaving 
Cornwallis to complete the task of subjugation. 

Fighting in the Carolinas. — Contrary to the wishes of 
Washington, General Gates was placed in independent com- 
mand of the operations in the South. \\'ith his small ami)- 
of Continentals, aided by local militiamen, Gates attacked 
Cornwallis at Camden, .^outh C^arolina, August 16, 1780, and 
sustained a severe defeat. ^Meanwhile Cornwallis had sent a 
>mall force of Tories, under command of Colonel Ferguson, 
to reduce the u]:>-country settlements. Immediateh- bold 
frontiersmen from the "Watauga Settlements" and \*estern 
X'irginia crossed the mountains to ojjpose the invaders. 
They met them at King's Mountain, in a position so strong 
that Ferguson boasted that "the Almighty could not drive 
him out." Although many of these backwoodsmen had onh 
I)een off their horses once in thirtv-six hours, and all had 



194 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



ridden through a drizzhng rain the whole preceding night, 
it took but one hour in the afternoon of October 7, 1780, for 
them to kill or capture Ferguson's entire force. When a re- 
port of the battle of King's Mountain reached Cornwallis he 

immediately changed 
liis plans. Although 
he had already taken 
Charlotte and was 
advancing on Salis- 
])ury, he abandoned 
the idea of invading 
Virginia and retreat- 
ed southward. The 
Tories of North 
Carolina dared not 
rise as had been ex- 
])ected by the Brit- 
ish, and the patriots 
of Virginia, free 
from danger of in- 
vasion, could devote 
their full strength to 
assisting their hard 
pressed neighbors. 

Early in the next 
year occurred the 
battle of Cowpens. 
South Carolina. There a detachment under Colonel Tarle- 
ton, one of Cornwallis's favorite cavalry officers, received a 
severe whipping from General Daniel Morgan. Two months 
later (March, 1781) General Greene, who had superseded 
Gates in the South, after leading Cornwallis himself a long 
chase, caused him to lose a fourth of his army at Guilford 
Court House, near the present city of Greensboro (March 
15, 1781). Although Cornwallis claimed this battle was a 





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THE Rt:VOLUTIONARV WAR 



195 



British victory, he had had all the upland hghting he wished 
and hastened to withdraw to Wilmington on the coast. 
When news of this reached London it was moved in the 
House of Commons that the Ministry undertake to make 
peace, since, as Charles Fox said, "America is lost, irrev- 
ocably lost, to this country.'* 




The London Riots of 1780 

They were caused hy popular discontent with the war in America and 

the hardships it entailed in England 

Indian hghting had taught the southerners methods and 
practises that the British knew nothing about. In the Caro- 
linas and Georgia bands of patriots, men who were "neither 
regulars nor militia, but who worked one day and fought 
the next," continually harried Cornwallis's men. Led by 
Francis Marion, "The Swamp Fox" ; Thomas Sumter, 
"The Game Cock" ; Andrew Pickens and Elijah Clark, 
these rangers would pounce upon them from forest, swamp 
and mountain glen, and then suddenly disappear. 

The siege of Yorktown. — Having failed to subdue the 
Carolinas and to catch Greene, the man who would "fight. 



196 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY. 



get beaten and fight again,'" Cornwallis decided to move 
north into Virginia, where he hoped "to bag that boy," as 
he called Lafayette. Continuing the ravaging of the lower 
counties, which already the traitor Arnold had overrun, 
Cornwallis took up a position on the peninsula formed by the 
James and York Rivers. When Washington, who was still 
at his headquarters on the Hudson, heard this, he formed a 
plan by which he thought the war could be brought to a sud- 
den close. 

While Cornwallis rested and wrote letters, Lafayette was 
cutting off his retreat by land. Washington, aided by the 
large French army under Count Rochambeau which had 
recently arrived, kept Clinton's attention by threatening to 
attack New York. Count de Grasse took the French fleet 




Tlic Surrender at Vorktowii 



THE REVOLUTIOXARV WAR 197 

into Chesapeake Bay to prevent the reinforcements or 
escape of Cornwallis. When all was ready, Washington's 
and Rochambeau's armies were marched to the head of 
Chesapeake Bay and ferried over to Yorktown. Cornwallis 
now was besieged by a force of nine thousand Americans 
and seven thousand French. For many days he was ex- 
posed to bombardment, and little by little the enemy's lines 
were closing in on him. At last, on October 19, 1781, seeing 
that further resistance was useless, he led his soldiers forth 
for surrender, while the band played TJic World Turned 
Upside Dozen. Gallant gentleman that he was, Washington 
would not humiliate Cornwallis by accepting his sword, and 
issued orders, "When they lay down their arms, don't 
hurrah." 

How the surrender was received. — It is not hard to pic- 
ture the joy of the patriots on receiving the tidings from 
Yorktown. W'ashington immediately despatched a courier 
to Philadelphia bearing the news to Congress. In the night 
of October twenty-fourth the messenger reached the city, 
and the inhabitants were aroused by the shouts of the night 
v/atchman, "Past three o'clock and Cornwallis is taken." 
Bells began to ring ; the streets resounded with cheers ; 
orators proclaimed the virtues of Washington and his sol- 
diers. 

Effect of the surrender in England. — The woeful tid- 
ings did not reach England until November twenty- 
seventh. Then Lord North, the prime minister, cried out in 
despair, "It is all over ! It is all over !" King George 
threatened to abdicate. The Tory majority in Parliament 
began to dwindle, for its policy had lost the American col- 
onies to England, and involved her in war with France, 
Spain and Holland. Russia, Denmark and Sweden, too, had 
formed a league against England ; the Irish were threaten- 
ing revolt, and the natives of India were turbulent. A few 
months later Lord North and his Tory Ministry resigned 



198 



OUR COUXTRY'S HISTORY 



and the king had to entrust the extrication of the countr} 
from its difficukies to Whig ministers responsible to Parha- 
ment instead of to himself. \\'ell might he say, "At last the 
fatal day has come which the misfortunes of the times and 
the changes of sentiment in the House of Commons have 
driven me to." 

The war on the sea. — When the war began Great 
Britain had two hundred and seventy armed ships and 
America had none. Gradually a "Continental Navy," which 
included at different times fifty-seven little vessels, was 
built. This navy did not risk any regular naval engagement, 
but did what damage it could to the British by raiding in the 
Bahama Islands and preying on their commerce. John 
Barry, an Irish-born patriot, commanded the first American 
squadron. The English tried to bribe him to enter their 
service by an ofifer of a hundred thousand dollars and the 
command of a frigate, but he scorned it in these words, 




"What the War Did to John Bull's Commerce" 

Tn this old cartoon the cow represents England's Commerce. The 
^'ank^■us are sawing off Iier lioins. tlic Dutch are milking her, and the 
I'renchmen and Spaniards are helpini; tliemsclves to tlic milk. The 
English mercliant wrings his hands in despair, wliile the British lion 
sleeps -AUil its frigates arc high and dry 



THK RKV()LUTIOXAK\ \\A1-; 



199 



"Not the value .'iiul command of the whole British fleet can 
seduce me from the cause of my country." 

Early in the war dififerent states granted "letters of 
marque" to ship owners. These permitted their vessels to 
cirry armed men and guns, and to attack the enemy's 
commerce without exposing the crew to the charge of 
piracy if captured. Massachusetts and Pennsylvania each 




The Battle between the Bonhomme Richard and the Serapis, 
September 23. 1779 



sent out about five hundred of these privateers. The crews 
were drawn mostly from the fisheries by the promise of 
adventure and "prize money." The cargoes of the plun- 
dered ships were always divided among the crew, and often 
the haul was a rich one. It is recorded that at the end of 
one voyage each sailor on a certain privateer received as 
his share of the proceeds, "seventeen hundred silver dollars, 
iwenty pounds of ginger and logwood, twenty pounds of 
cotton, thirty or forty gallons of rum and a ton o'f sugar." 



200 



OUR COUXTRY'S HISTORY 



Exploits of John Paul Jones. — The most famous naval 
officer of the Revolution was John Paul Jones. With his 
good ship Ranger he ventured to the very shores of Great 
Britain and attacked her commerce, and twice landed his 
men on British soil. After the French alliance this daring 
captain was placed in command of some French vessels. On 
the night of September 23, 1779, his flagship, Bonhommc 
Richard, attacked the British forty-five-gun frigate, Scrapis, 
off the northeastern coast of England. There was a terrific 
fight at close range, ending in the greatest humiliation the 
British navy had suffered in years — the surrender of the 
Sera pis. 

Indian depredations. — Soon after establishing the 
"Proclamation Line" the British Government bought from 
the Indians the territory between the Ohio and Tennessee 
Rivers (1768). Soon surveyors from Virginia were lay- 
ing oft* homesteads which were allotted the veterans of the 
French and Indian War. In 1776 the County of Kentucky 

was organized and 
settlers began to ar- 
r i v e by way of 
"Boone's Trace" or 
flatboats on the Ohio. 
When the Revolu- 
tionary War broke 
out the situation of 
the frontier settle- 
ments was distress- 
ing. The Iroquois 
took the side of the 
British and threat- 
ened to lay waste 
western New York 
and Pennsylvania. 
Uii I lie March to Vincenncs Farther west the Al- 




THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR 



201 



gonquins, already aroused by the invasion of their hunting- 
grounds in the Ohio Valley, were only too willing to co- 
operate with General Hamilton, the British commandant at 
Detroit. The frontier settlements all the way from Wa- 
tauga to Pittsburgh were kept in a state of constant terror. 
To put a stop to these savage depredations George Rogers 
Clark, a young Virginia surveyor, obtained a military com- 
mission from Patrick Henry, the governor of his state. This 
authorized him to enlist a company of one hundred fifty men 
for the purpose of breaking up the British control of the 
whole region. \\'ith his force of daring backwoodsmen, 
Clark proceeded down the Ohio and with little difficulty 
took Kaskaskia and Cahokia. From there in the middle of 
winter he started to march to Vincennes. Through bogs and 
flooded lowlands, where the water was often up to the 
shoulders of his men, the two hundred miles were 
finally accomplished. Fort Vincennes was taken and Gen- 
eral Hamilton captured. This daring expedition not only 
saved the frontier settlements of Kentucky and Tennessee 
from further Indian outrages, liut more important still, 
made it easier to secure in the treaty of peace at the close 
of the war, an extension of the boundary to the ^Mississippi. 
The treaty of peace. — ^^'hen Parliament convened in 




Facsimile of the Signatures to tlic Treaty- of Paris 



202 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

1782, George III announced, with tears in his eyes, that he 
was ready to acknowledge the independence of the thirteen 
"United Colonies of America." After months of negotia- 
tion, the American envoys, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams. 
John Jay and Henry Laurens agreed to a treaty which was 
finally signed at Paris, September 3, 1783. By its terms 
Great Britain acknowledged the independence of the several 
-Vmerican States, lying south of Canada, east of the Mis- 
><issippi River, and north of Florida. By another treaty, 
made at the same time between Great Britain and Spain, 
East and West Florida, which included the country lying 
south of the thirty-first parallel of latitude as far west as 
the Mississippi River, became a Spanish possession again. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. The Declaration of hidependence was a bold measure for the 

Americans. It was one thing to declare independence, but it 
proved to be quite a different thing to achieve it. The Amer- 
icans were on the defensive, and England must either conquer 
them or give in to them. \Vhich did she do? 

2. Why did the British consider it important to get possession of 

New Y^ork Cit}-? Did they succeed in their plan of campaign? 

3. In the course of the Revolutionary War General George 

Washington won more battles by strategy than bj' fighting. 
Why did he not engage the enemy in more real fighting? In 
what sense was the winter at Valley Forge the "crisis of the 
Revolution" ? 

4. Robert Morris has been called the "financier" of the Revolution. 

State clearlj' the services he rendered. 

.^. Name five prominent soldiers in Europe who voluntarily joined 
the Americans in their fight for freedom against a tyrannical 
monarch. 

0. What was the purpose of the British in the expedition of Gen- 
eral Burgoyne in 1777? The battle at Saratoga, which re- 
sulted in the surrender of Burgoyne's army, October 17, 1777. 
is known as one of the decisive battles of militarv history. 
Why? 



Till'. RF.VOLUTIOXARV WAR 



203 



7. Through whose influence was the French alhance made po-;- 

sible? What were the consequences of that alhance? 
N. What is meant by treason ? Why did Benedict Arnold become a 

traitor? Point out the salient weakness in Arnold's character. 

Do you think the hanging of Andre was justifiable? 
9. How was the news of the surrender of Cornwallis received ;ii 

Philadelphia? Tn London? 

10. When and where was the treaty of peace signed? Name tlir 

American patriots who helped to make it. 

11. Write in your note-book a list of incidents and events which 

prove the greatness of Washington as a military genius. 

SUBJECTS FOR in"RTHER STUDY 

1. Yorktown and Saratoga cam|)aigns. 

2. The lives of the following men : Baron de Kalb, Kosciusko. 

Pulaski. Lafayette. 

UKKEREXCKS 

1. Fiske's The Awcricau RcvoJutioii. Vol. II, pp. 4-24. 28-.S6. 215- 

243. 273-286. 
1. Southwortli's Builders of Our Country, Book II. pi). 24-47. 
.1. Crea.sj''s Fifteen Decisive Battles of the li'ortd, pp. .123-.347. 
4. Coffin's Boys of '76, pp. 91-26L 




The Flag of the 
United Colonies 



CHAPTER XVI 
THE CONFEDERATION AND ITS BREAKDOWN 

Adoption of the Articles of Confederation. — By the 
Declaration of Independence the thirteen colonies pro- 
claimed themselves states. The idea of independence was 
too strong to permit them to form a single nation ; but 
ihe common danger of losing the war held them together 
until Great Britain acknowledged their independence. 

From the start Congress had recognized the need of a 
central government. On the same day that Jefferson's 
committee was appointed to draft the Declaration, another 
was named for the task of preparing a j^lan of permanent 
government. This committee had before it a scheme sug- 
gested Iw Benjamin Franklin, based upon the New England 
Confederacy, and its final report was a modilication of it. 
For over a year Congress debated the "Articles of Confed- 
eration," as the plan recommended by the committee was 
called. However, it was not until Burgoyne's surrender at 
Saratoga renewed the confidence of every one in ultimate 
success that they were adopted. As soon as Congress had 
acted, a cojw of the Articles of Confederation was sent 
to each of tlie thirteen states for the consideration of its 
legislature, for they could not become cft'ective until rati- 
fied by all. 

Adoption of Articles delayed four years. — Then ensued 
a season of bickering. The colonies had felt the tyranny 
of a strong centralized government and in the present death 
grapple with Great Britain determined to free themselves 
from such tyranny for all time. They were naturallv selfish 

204 



THE CONFEDERATION AND ITS BREAKDOW N 205 

and suspicious of one another and it required the suffering 
of a long war to teach them the vakie of "team work" — 
that self-sacrifice for the common good in the end brings 
the greatest prosperity to all. 

The triumph of Maryland's grand idea. — The one 
great obstacle to any kind of union was the lands west 
of the Appalachians. Several states held conflicting claims 
to the region north of the Ohio, and it seemed impossible 
to adjust them. [Maryland and others, whose colonial char- 
ters had not read "to the South Sea," insisted that as 
war was being waged by all the states alike, these lands 
should become the common property- of all. They argued 
that from their future sale funds could be obtained to 
defray the expenses of the war. By 1781 all the states 
had ratified the Articles of Confederation except ^^laryland. 
That year, through the influence of Thomas Jefferson, Vir- 
ginia finally ceded to the central government her claims to 
the "Northwest Territory," as the region now embraced b}- 
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin was called. 
Since New York had already done this, Maryland then rati- 
fied without waiting for Massachusetts and Connecticut to 
act, and the United States of America became an accom- 
pHshed fact (March 1, 1781). Later Massachusetts and 
Connecticut surrendered their claims. 

Weakness of the Articles. — From the start far-sighted 
statesmen knew the Articles would fail, because, as Alex- 
ander Hamilton said, they created a government "fit neither 
for war nor peace." Yet, weak as it was, it had served a 
common purpose and had demonstrated the value of union. 
Compared with our present system of national government 
we observe at once certain striking defects, such as : 

(1) Lack of a chief executive with power to enforce the 
laws made by Congress. The result was that the states 
obeyed them or not as they saw fit. 

(2) An unfair representation of the people in Congress, 



206 



OUR COUx\TRV'S HISTORY 



since each state had only one vote regardless of its pop- 
ulation and the number of its representatives. 

(3) The inal)ility of Congress to impose taxes and raise 
armies by direct levy. It could apportion "quotas" to the 
several states but could not compel them to respond. 

(4) The powerlessness of Congress to regulate commerce 
between the states and with foreign countries. The indi- 
vidual states could impose duties on articles entering or 
leaving their territories and make agreements for trade with 
foreign nations, without regard to their neighbors. 

(5) The requirement that most bills proposed in Congress 
must receive the votes of nine of the thirteen states to be- 
come laws. In practise local jealousy made it difficult to 
get nine to agree. 

(6) Lack of means for settling dis]:)utes between citizens 
of different states. 

(7) Difficulty of amending the articles. 

The Ordinance of 1787. — The one great piece of con- 
structive work accomplished under the Articles of Confed- 
eration was providing a 
government for the 
Northwest Territory. 
While the matter of the 
ratification was still 
pending Congress had 
voted that any lands 
ceded to the general gov- 
ernment would be used 
to pay the country's 
debts, and that as they 
became settled, new 
states would l)c organ- 
ized from them. To car- 
ry out this pledge, Thom- 
as Jefferson, in 1784. introduced a measure into Congress 
but it failed to pass. The next year, however, a law was 
enacted ordering a sin-vev of the western lands. It was also 




Federal Lands Nortli of the Oliic 



THE COXFEDERATIOX AND TTS BREAKDOWN 



207 



decreed that certain portions of iheni should be set aside to 
l)rovide a permanent school ftmd. Two years later the 
"Ordinance of 1787" organized "The Territory of the 
United States Northwest of the Ohio." This measure re- 
sembled in many respects the one proposed by Jefferson. 
It provided a temporary government to administer the 
afifairs of the territory until such time as the population 
should be suf^cient to warrant' the election of a territorial 
legislature. The ordinance also stated that, eventually, 
from three to five states should be organized out of the ter- 
ritory. There was a compact written into it exckiding 
negro slavery and forever guaranteeing religious freedom. 
Congress went beyond its power in adopting this compact, 
but showed by its action that it regarded slavery and re- 
Jigious intolerance as hindrances to progress in civilization. 




Building in Greenville. Tennessee. Used as the 
Capitol of tlie State of Franklin 



208 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



Settlement of the West. — Before the passage of the 
Ordinance of 1787, thousands of persons had crossed the 
Alleghanies and settled along the western slopes of what 
was then western Virginia and North Carolina. When 
North Carolina ceded her territory beyond the mountains 
to the general government in 1784 without consulting them, 
the inhabitants of the \\'atauga district were so indignant 
that they seceded. They organized a state of their own 
called "Franklin" and sought recognition for it from Con- 
gress. North Carolina hastily rescinded its act of cession, 



y^^ ^rP'f'^^ ' '■i** ^j-w* ^ «„^»»Ws: , tiK - 




\i?i^ \m 



Campus Martins, the Defense of the Marietta SettleiiKiu 

and offered the frontiersmen many inducements to return 
to their former allegiance. In the bitterness of feeling that 
followed, Governor Sevier was arrested on the charge of 
treason and taken to the eastern side of the mountains for 
trial. In 1790 after "Franklin" had ceased to exist, North 
Carolina again ceded the region to the United States, and 
the Watauga, Flolston and Cumberland settlements became 
part of the "Territory South of the Ohio River." 

Before \'irginia relinquished her claims in the Xortliwest 



THE COXFEDERATIOX AND ITS BREAKDOWN 209 

Territory many land grants along the Ohio had been made 
to soldiers as bounties. Connecticut in her cession had re- 
tained a strip called the "Western Reserve," extending one 
liundred and twenty miles along Lake Erie, for similar pur- 
poses. These tracts soon began filling up with homesteaders. 
The region around Marietta (Ohio) also was rapidly being 
settled with immigrants brought from New England by the 
Ohio Company, which was composed of Revolutionary 
officers. 

Financial difficulties. — During the last years of the war 
the states, except in the devastated region of the South, 
had prospered financially. As only a small part of the men 
were in the army at one time, business could go on un- 
hampered. There was a ready market for produce in pro- 
visioning the French army and large profits in illegal trade 
with the British. In the belief that conditions would be 
better still, when peace came, the merchants imported 
from England large stocks of goods, bought on long credit. 
This was a mistake, for when the peace treaty was signed 
and the French armies had departed, the people began to 
sufifer from the effects of war. Metallic money disappeared 
from circulation ; and currency depreciated in value until it 
was said that it took a cart load of it to purchase a cart load 
of produce. 

Clash between debtors and creditors. — The new United 
States had vast resources of forest, field and mine, but 
these could not be developed without labor, and the num- 
ber of working men had been diminished by the losses of 
war. The Tory population had been largely driven from the 
country and many slaves had run away from their owners 
or been stolen by the British. Hundreds of merchantmen 
had been captured by the enemy, and diere was no longer 
opportunity to balance these losses by "prizes" taken at sea. 
Great Britain closed her West India ports to American 
shipping and forbade the importation from the United 



210 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



States of certain commodities like fish and provisions. Peo- 
ple who had incurred debts in prosperous times could not 
pay them and the courts were clogged with suits for fore- 
closure of mortgages. In response to popular demands. 
Congress enacted "stay" laws to forbid the immediate seiz- 
ure of pro]:)erty for debt ; and "legal tender" laws to compel 
creditors to accejn cattle and other farm produce in lieu of 

coin. The states 
issued large 
quantities of pa- 
per money, and 
the creditor 
class was com- 
pelled by law to 
accept it. In sev- 
eral states the 
debtors became 
riotous, and an- 
gry mobs gath- 
ered about the 
court-houses to 
])r event the 
courts from pro- 
ceeding with 
their Imsiness. 




Preventing Court from Holding in Western 
Massaclmsetts clnring Shavs' Rebellion 



In Massachusetts Daniel Shays led an actual rel)ellion which 
had to be suppressed by military force (1787). 

Meanwhile, Congress was able to secure from the states 
only about one-sixth of its levies. .V proposal by it to lay 
duties on imports was twice rejected by the states. So in 
order to secure funds to pay the interest on that part of the 
national debt owed abroad, the government had to borrow 
money from F.uropean bankers at a high rate of interest. 
No effort was made to pay the interest on bonds owned by 
\merican citizens, and these depreciated until they would 
not sell for half their face value. 



TH1-: CONFEDERATION AND ITS BREAKDOWN 211 

Friction between the states. — The need of concerted 
action during the war had kept local rivalry in abeyance ; 
but now it began to reappear. Each state sought commer- 
cial advantage for itself. Connecticut admitted goods from 
Rngland free and laid imports on those from the adjoining 
--tate of Alassachusetts. New York placed a duty on fire- 
wood from Connecticut and taxed produce from New Jer- 
sey. New Jersey retaliated by charging New York one 
thousand dollars a year for permission to maintain a light- 
house on its shores. Maryland and Virginia renewed their 
former contention over the navigation of the Potomac 
River and Chesapeake Bay, and the situation became so 
serious that at last commissioners from the two states were 
appointed to discuss the matter. Through Washington's in- 
fluence, probably, they recommended that the states be in- 
vited to send delegates to confer upon the commercial situa- 
tion. Delegates from five states met at Annapolis in 1786. 
Alexander Hamilton, of New York, drafted a report recom- 
mending that a conference be called to revise the Articles of 
Confederation. A copy of this report was submitted to Con- 
gress, and after long deliberation that body issued the call 
for a convention to meet in Philadelphia in May, 1787. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. Note carefullj' that the Declaration of Independence did not 

make a new nation, but instead thirteen independent and sov- 
ereign states. The desire for independence in political affairs 
was too strong to permit the organization of a single nation 
with a strong central government. What, therefore, held the 
states together in the trying years from 1776 to 1783? 

2. What was the chief obstacle to the formation of the thirteen 

independent states into any kind of union? Wliat is meant 
by the triumph of "Maryland's Grand Idea"? 

3. In what year did the United States of .\menca become an ac- 

complished fact? When did the Confederation become legally 
binding? Why not sooner? 



212 OUR COUXTRVS HISTORY 

4. Write in your note-book a connected account of all the steps 

taken by the colonies toward the formation of a union. Ob- 
serve that the thirteen United Colonies ceased to be called 
colonies when they won their independence. What were they 
then called? 

5. Write in your note-book a statement showing clearly the chief 

])oints of weakness in the Articles of Confederation. 

0. What was the greatest piece of constructive work done by the 

United States of America imder the Articles of Confedera- 
tion? Name the states later formed out of the Northwest 
Territory. 

7. Wliere was the so-called state of "Franklin" located? What was 

meant by the "Western Reserve"? 

8. John Fiske, an historical writer, called the period between 1783 

and 1789 the "Critical Period" of American history. Collect 
and arrange in your note-book the facts stated in your text 
which support the reasonableness of Fiske's title. Find addi- 
tional facts if you can. 

9. What was the purpose of the convention at Annapolis in 1786? 

Through whose influence was this convention called? What 
did it accomplish? Alexander Hamilton, of New York, at- 
tended this convention, and made an important recommenda- 
tion. What was it? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. Why the period of the Confederation was really a "critical pe- 

riod." 
J. The Watauga Settlement. 
.\ Daniel Boone, the man and his work. 

REFERENCES 

1. Elson's Side Lights on American History, Vol. I, pp. 24-37. 

2. Hart's Formation of the Union, pp. 104-119. 

.1. Fiske's The Critical Period of American History. Note. This 
reference is primarilj' for the teacher. It is easily the best 
single book on the period under consideration, and it should 
find a place in every school library. 

4. Thompson's History of the United States, Political-Industrial- 
Social, pp. 121-136. (A valuable reference for the teacher.) 



CHAPTER XVII 
HOW THE CONSTITUTION WAS FRAMED- 

The Constitutional Convention. — By May 25, 1787, 
delegates from seven states assembled at Philadephia, and 
the convention was organized with General George W'ash- 
ington as presiding officer. Later delegations arrived until 
there were present fifty-five, representing all the states ex- 
cept Rhode Island. These delegates had been chosen from 
the governing and large landholding classes of their respec- 
tive states. Among the men of distinction in attendance 
were Alexander Hamilton, of New York ; James ^ladison 
and John Randolph, of Virginia ; Benjamin Franklin and 
Robert IMorris, of Pennsylvania ; General Cotesworth Pinck- 
ney, of South Carolina ; and General William R. David, of 
Xorth Carolina. In the same hall — in the very same room 
— eight of the delegates had helped adopt the Declaration 
of Independence eleven years before. 

The sessions were secret and marked by violent cHsagree- 
ment. At the very start the Virginia delegation took the 
lead. It offered a plan which, instead of revising the Ar- 
ticles of Confederation, disregarded them and proposed to 
create a strong "national" government. The new system 
was to consist of three departments : Legislative, Executive 
and Judiciary. To this plan the smaller states, led by New 
Jersey, were strongly op]iosed. The interests of the dif- 
ferent states were so conflicting that as the heated debates 
])rogressed it looked at times as though no common ground 
could be found, and that the country must be given over to 
anarchy. 

* In connection with this chajitcr the pupils shuukl read and discuss in class 
the Cnnstitution which will he found on papes iii-xv nf the Appendix. 

213 



Del. 

N.J. p 

Ky. 

N.Y 

Ga. 

N.C. 

Md. 

S.C. 

Va. 



214 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

The Connecticut Compromise. — The smaller states 
were determined to have equal influence with the larger 
in all federal lawmaking. To this end they demanded 
equal representation in the Federal Congress, but the 
in twentg-five thousands ^^rger States would not agree 

I I 1 I I I I I I I to it. After much bitter de- 
bate the dispute was settled 
vt. 17 by compromise. The new 

N.H. 158 ^ . r 

R.I. 952 Congress was to consist of 

Conn. 2759 *= 

Tenn. 3417 two houscs. In the upper, or 

Penn. 3737 ^ '■ ' 

Senate, each state should 
have two members ; in the 

lower, or House of Repre- 

^^^^^^^^ sentatives, the representa- 




Distribution of Negro tion should be apportioned 

Population in 1790 ,. , . , 

according to population. In 

determining population for representation three-fifths of 
the slaves were to be counted. This followed the precedent 
established by Congress in 1783, in apportioning the tax 
levies under the v\rticles of Confederation. 

The slave trade compromise. — The New England 
Stiiles, whose foreign trade had suffered so seriously from 
the British navigation and trade laws, desired that the 
Federal Government be given power to regulate commerce. 
This would enable it to enact retaliatory measures if Great 
Britain continued to insist on barring American vessels 
from her ports and on taxing American products. Georgia 
and South Carolina opposed this, fearing that Congress 
might abolish the slave trade, for in states where slave 
labor was not profitable agitation against slavery was grow- 
ing. Massachusetts had already abolished it, and in the 
other New England States and Pennsylvania laws had 
been enacted which eventually would do the same thing. 
Congress, too, had just forbidden it in the Northwest Ter- 



HOW THE CONSTITUTION WAS FRAMED 



215 



ritory, and only the large plantation sections of the far 
South really favored slave labor. To quiet their fears the 
New Englanders entered into a "bargain" with them, and 
the Constitution provided that importation of slaves should 
not be prohibited before 1808, in return for which the Con- 
gress should be given power to regulate commerce. All 
treaties and commercial arrangements with foreign powers, 
however, were to be negotiated by the president, as the 
chief executive was to be called, but were not to become 
binding until ratified by a two-thirds vote of the Senate. 
Adoption of the Constitution. — The Constitution was 







Facsimile of the First Signatures to the Constitution 

pronounced later by the great English statesman, William 
Gladstone, "the most wonderful work ever struck off at a 
given time by the brain and purjiose of man." Yet it did noi 
fully satisfy any delegation in the convention, and when ii 
was ready for signing, September 17, 1787, only thirty- 
nine delegates subscribed their names. In the Constitution 
was a provision that it should be submitted to conventions 
in the several states, and when ratified bv nine of them the 



I 



-'16 



OUR COUNTRY'S H-ISTORY 



Federal Government should be organized. Congress had 
the power to refuse to submit the document to the states, 
and what its action would be was uncertain. In the "Arti- 
cles" the Confederation had been declared perpetual, while 
rhe Constitution allowed nine states to break this bond, if 
the remaining four failed to ratify. Congress finally de- 
cided to pass the Constitution on to the states for such 
action as they might take. 

Struggle over ratification. — Alost of the states ordered 
an election of delegates to a constitutional convention. 
This started a bitter political campaign. Persons favoring 
the adoption of the Constitution called themselves "Fed- 
eralists" ; those opposed, "Anti-Federalists." The Federal 
party was composed largely of the more prosperous citi- 
zens who believed that only the adoption of the Consti- 
tution could save the country from ruin. The Anti-Fed- 
eralists were mostly the small farmers and tradesmen who 
were deeply in debt by reason of the misfortunes of the 
times. From the class of men advocating its adoption these 
somewhat "down-in-the-world" citizens feared the i)roposed 

government would 
eventually deprive 
the states of their 
liberties and become 
tyrannical. 

According to one 
party the Constitu- 
tion Was the "work 
of commercial peo- 
l)le in seaport towns. 
of the planters of 
the slaveholding 
states, of the officers 
of the Revolution- 
ary armv and of the 



lAMILTOI 

Celebration in New York of the Adoption 

of the Constitution 







now THE COXSTITUTIOX WAS FRAMF.D 



217 



property holders everywhere.'' In the words of the other 
it was opposed by "all men much in debt who will not wish 
to see a government established, one object of which is to 
restrain the means of cheating creditors." 

Xew Jersey, Delaware and (jeorgia were the first to 
ratify. Massachusetts, \'irginia and New York were, on 
account of their wealth and population, considered indis- 
pensable to the success of the new government. \M'ien these 
states finally ratified the Constitution they demanded cer- 
tain amendments. In June, 1788, the ninth state — N^ew 
Hampshire — fell into line, and Congress authorized the or- 
ganization of the present government of the United States. 

The Fourth of July of that year was celebrated with 
wilder enthusiasm than any since 1776, especially in Phila- 
tlelphia. In the oratory 
of the day it was an- 
nounced that, "The slooj) 
.Vnarchy is ashore on 
Union Rock, the old 
scow Confederation has 
]nit to sea and the good 
shij) I^'ederal Constitu- 
tion has come into port 
l)ringing a cargo of Pub- 
lic Credit and Prosper- 
ity." 

While the ratification, 
question was pending. 
Alexander Hamilton. 
James Madison and 
John Jay Avrote articles 
for the newspapers de- 
fending the Constitution 

and urging the citizens to vote for it. These ;>ai)ers, since 
published as a book called TJir Federalist, did mucli to win 
the confidence of the people. 




Fhgtu iiuin I iiair«ouJ .i,: L'ndenvuoU 

Federal Hall. New York. Showing 

tlie Iiiauuuration of Washington 



2\S OUR COUNTRY'S TIISTORV 

Rhode Island and North CaroHna held aloof until after 
the Federal Government was organized, but at last, when 
they realized their inability to exist as independent nations, 
came into the union. 

Washington the first president. — Although the first 
Congress of the United States was summoned to convene 
at New York City on ]\Iarch 4, 1789, it was the sixth of 
-Vpril before a quorum of both houses was present. Its first 
work was to count the electoral votes and to proclaim 
George Washington the unanimous choice of the people for 
President and John Adams for vice-president. 

Washington's journey from his home at IMount Vernon 
on the Potomac River v.-as a triumphal march. On April 
30, 1789, the man who had scorned a kingship a few years 
before Avhen the projiosal was placed before him by some 
of the officers in his army, now. wearing a brown suit with 
a dress sword, white stockings and silver-buckled shoes, 
took the oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall, New 
York, while the onlookers below shouted, "Long live George 
Washington. Presirlent of the United v^tates." 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. When and where did the Constitutional Convention meet? How 

long was it in session ? Who was its presiding officer ? How 
many delegates attended this convention ? Which state failed 
to send delegates to the convention? Why? 

2. In your note-book list the names of ten or more of the promi- 

nent men who attended the convention. Some of the ablest 
men in America took part in the delil)erations while other- 
equally able did not attend. For example, Thomas JeflFerson. 
John Adams, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henr\ 
and Richard Henry Lee were not present. Why? 

.1 Who was the oldest member of the convention? The youngest 
member? Who was called the "Father of the Constitution?" 
How many of the members were college graduates? 

4. Observe that Hamilton's resolution offered at Philadelphia the 
year before related to a revision of the Articles of Confedera- 
tion, not the making of an entirely new constitution. The 



HOW THE CONSTITUTION WAS FRAMED 219 

plan presented by James Madison provided for a new consti- 
tution. In otlier words, the convention was called to do one 
tiling, and proceeded to do an entirely different thing. \Miat 
was the reason for this revolutionary action ? 

.r What kind of a government did Madison's plan provide for? 
Was it finall}^ adopted ? 

(). Before the constitution could be made, it was necessary for the 
members to agree to three compromises : the Connecticut com- 
promise, the three-fifths compromise, and the slave trade com- 
promise. Try to understand each of these clearly. What does 
the word "compromise" mean? 

7. How many delegates signed their names to tlie new Constitu- 

tion? Of these who had also signed the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence eleven years before? 

8. Describe the struggle over the ratification of the Constitution. 

9. It has been said that The Federalist is the greatest treatise on 

government that has ever been written. Who wrote it? What 
was its influence in the struggle for ratification? Which was 
the first state to ratify the new Constitution? Which was the 
ninth ? Prepare a table in your note-book showing the date and 
the order in wliich the thirteen states adopted the Constitu- 
tioti. 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. Interesting things connected with the Constitutional Convention 

of 1787. 
1. Why James Madison is justly entitled to be called the father 

of the Constitution. 

REFERENCES 

1. Elson's Side Lights on American History, Vol. I. pp. 37-64. 

2. Hart's Formation of the Union, pp. 121-133. 

3. Spark's The Men Who Made the Nation, pp. 151-180. 

4. Fiske's The Critical Period of American History. 

The English Colonies Revolt from Their Mother Country 
and Establish a New Nation 

I. Economic Conditions in the Colonies. 
A. The chief industries. 

1. Farming. 

2. Production of lumber and naval stores. 

3. Fishing. 

4. Fur trade 



220 OUR COUXTR^■'S HISTORY 

5. Manufacturinsj:. 

6. Commerce. 

a. Hampered by Navigation Acts. 

B. Scarcity of coin among the colonies. 

1. Things used as money. 

2. Pine tree shillings of Massachusetts. 

3. Paper money. 

C. The supply of labor. 

1. Indentured servants. 

2. Slaves. 

II. Soc lAL LlFi; IX THE CoLOXlES. 

A. Social distinctions. 

1. Poor whites. 

2. Middle class- — mechanics, shopkeepers and small 
farmers. 

.). Aristocratic class. 
V>. Religion. 

1. The Established Churches. 

2. The Presbyterian Churcli. 

3. The Baptist Churcli. 

4. The Methodist Cluirch. 
C. Education in the colonies. 

1. First college foimded. 

2. Tutors employed in tlic Soutli. 

III. C.VLSES OK THE ReVOLT OV THE CoEOXIES. 

.\. George III, stupid, obstinate, despotic, and the govern- 
ment corrupt. 

B. The old obnoxious acts enforced. 

1. The Navigation Acts. 

2. The Trade Laws. 

3. The Manufacturing Act, 

C. The object of the Townshend Acts. 

1. Resistance, violence, Boston Tea Party. 
I). The Intolerable Acts of 1774. 

1. Boston Port Bill. 

2. Regulation Act. 

3. Quartering Act. 

4. Quebec Act. 

E. Continental Congress drew up Declaration of Rights and 
Grievances, and passed Non-Importation Agreement 



HOW THE COXSTITUTIOX WAS I-RAMTD 2Z\ 

\y. The War Breaks Out. 

A. Fighting in the vicinity of Boston. 

B. The Declaration of Independence. 

C. The New York campaign. 

1. The object wa,s to separate the New England Colo- 

nies from Middle Colonies. 

2. Battle of Long Island. 

3. Washington's retreat through New Jersey. 

4. Battles of Trenton and Princeton. 

D. Campaign of 1777. 

1. Battle of Brandywine Creek. 

2. Burgoyne's defeat at Saratoga. 

3. The winter at Valley Forge. 

E. The war in the South. 

1. Charleston and Savannah captured liy Britisli. 

2. Battle of King's Mountain. 

3. Battle of Cowpens. 

4. Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. 

5. War on the sea; exploits of John Paul Jnnes, etc. 

F. Treaty of Peace. 

\'. Thk Goverxmext under the Articles oi- Coxfederatiox. 
.\. Obstacles in the way of their adoption. 

B. Weakness of the Articles. 

C. Ordinance of 1787. 

n. Critical period in the history of tiic country. 

1. Shaj's' Rebellion. 

2. Failure of the Articles. 

\'I. Making of the Coxstitution. 

A. Constitutional Convention. 

1. The personnel. 

2. The three important compromises. 

B. Ratification of the Constitution. 

1. The Federalists. 

2. The Anti-Federalists. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE FEDERALISTS IN CONTROL 

George Washington, President, I'/S^-iy^y 
John Adams, President, I'/^y-iSoi 

Organization of the new government. — The first presi- 
ilent and Congress of the United States had a difiicult task 
lo perform. Upon them devolved the duty of setting up the 
new governmental machinery which was to replace that cre- 
ated by the outworn Articles of Confederation. The Con- 
stitution vested the executive ]:>ower in the president ; but 
the duties of the office were too heavy for one person. 
Therefore, to assist him, three departments, presided over 
by secretaries, were created — the State Department, to look 
after relations with other countries ; the Treasury Depart- 
ment, to administer the finances of the nation ; and the War 
Department, to have charge of matters pertaining to the 
army and navy. An attorney-general was also provided 
to act as legal adviser to the president and the Departments. 

The first presidential Cabinet. — President Washington 
appointed Thomas Jetierson. of Virginia, secretary of state; 
Alexander Hamilton, of New York, secretary of the treas- 
ury ; General Henry Knox, of Massachusetts, secretary of 
war ; and lulmund Randolph, of Virginia, attorney-general. 
.Vlthough a ["'ederalist himself. W^ashington respected the 
opinions of the opposing party. As the government was for 
all the people he desired all political views represented, and 
appointed Anti-Federalists to the offices of secretary of state 
and attorney-general. He also inaugurated the custom of 

222 



THE FEDERALISTS TX CONTROL 223 

summoning the three secretaries and the attorney-general to 
meet him as a "Cabinet" for the purpose of giving advice on 
questions of public poHcy. Every president up to the present 
time has followed this precedent, although the Departments 
have increased from three to ten. 

Under the Constitution, Congress established a Suj)reme 




George Wasliington 

Court consisting of a chief justice and five associate jus- 
tices. John Jay, of New York, was appointed the first 
chief justice of the United States. 

Establishing the government's credit. — The most seri- 
ous problem facing the new nation was the financial one. 
The credit lost under the Confederation must be recovered. 



224 



OUR COL'XTRV'S HISTOKV 



The war debts now amounted to tifty-four million dollars, 
for which the government had given bonds, certificates and 
other "promises to pay" ; and twelve million dollars' worth 

of this paper was 






i/wTa! 



ijiths. 



-^ \vith Intci-fft, at tT5^ R,i!t jpr Six j^^- Cneupit fKT^Atjism^ Irom tH>!^--rui/ 



other current Monty, 



Otjvf ,■'>/-. 




owned in Europe. 
The failure of the 
Confederation to pay 
even the interest on 
its bonds had almost 
destroyed the credit 
of the country. 

Hamilton's finan- 
cial measures. — 
Secretary Hamilton 
knew that among na- 
tions, as well as in- 
dividuals, credit de- 
pends on ability and 
disposition to pay 
debts promptly. He 
proposed to "fund"' 
all the indebtedness, by calling in the old securities and giv- 
ing in exchange bonds bearing inlorest and due at a certain 
future time. He also desired the government to assume the 
war obligations of the several states, amounting in all to 
twenty-one million dollars. Most of this money w^as due 
the wealthier class of citizens who paid a large proportion 
of the taxes. If assured that the government would redeem 
these old obligations, Hamilton thought they would not op- 
pose his taxation plans. 

These funding measures, however, met with violent op- 
])Osition. It was argued that by redeeming the debts at face 
value a small part of the population would profit at the ex- 
pense of the many. To a large extent the original owners 
of the securities had sold them to speculators for as little 



n^f <f.- 



Facsimile of a United States Due Bill 
Issued in 1784 



THE FEDERALISTS TX CONTROL 



225 




Alexander Hamilton 



as twenty-live cents on the dollar. Congressmen themselves 
were accused of being engaged in this speculation. Pennsyl- 
vania and most of the South- 
ern States had paid the bulk of 
their indebtedness and naturally 
objected to taxation for the pay- 
ment of New England's and 
South Carolina's oliligations. 

A compromise between Ham- 
ilton and Jefferson. — At the 
same time these measures were 
before Congress, the question of 
a permanent capital was under 
discussion, and its location much 

in dispute. The South wished it on the Potomac and the 
North somewhere in Pennsylvania. Hamilton and Jeffer- 
son brought about a compromise by which the capital should 
be removed, in ten years, to a federal district on the Poto- 
mac, ceded by Maryland and Virginia ; and the state debts 
should be assumed by the nation according to Hamilton's 
])lan. The entire debt was then refunded and public credit 

restored ; and in 1800 the seat 
of government was moved to 
a new site on the Potomac, 
named Washington in honor 
of the man who was "first in 
war, first in peace, and first in 
the hearts of his countrymen." 
The tariff and the United 
States Bank. — As a means 
of raising revenue to support 
the government, Congress 
early laid a duty on such im- 
The Original Federal District ports as wines, tea, coffee, CO- 

In 1846 Congress returned to Vir- , , 

t'ini;, the p.-irt «he ha,i cefie.i coa, sugar aud peppcr, and 




lid OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

also levied a tonnage tax on foreign vessels entering Ameri- 
can ports. A group of members from the Northern States, 
urged on by Hamilton, succeeded in "tacking on" to this 
measure a duty on manufactured articles imported from 
abroad. This was done to encourage and protect the man}- 
American manufactures which had been established when 
the war cut off trade with England. The southern meni- 
l)ers opposed this, as they had no factories and wished to 
continue to import European manufactures without any 
restriSitipns. . - '■»!■ 

A tax plited on distilled liquors. — In 1790 a tax was 
also laid on whisky and rum distilled in the United States. 
Already much of the corn and rye crops of the Alleghan} 
regions was being made into whisky, for this was more 
easily marketed than the grain itself. However, transpor- 
tation was so expensive that the profit on this liquor was 
small, and the new tax would make it smaller yet. This 
measure, too, aroused bitter opposition, for it was a form of 
internal tax, a thing which as far back as 1774 the First 
Continental Congress had declared "the horror of all free 
states." 

Establishment of a United States Bank. — In 1791. Con- 
gress chartered the United States Bank for a period of 
twenty years. It provided that the notes issued by this 
bank should be exchangeable for gold and silver coin, so 
that they might pass for full value throughout the coun- 
try. A mint for coining money was set up at Philadelphia 
the next year. The dollars, dimes and cents of our mone- 
tary system came into existence with this mint, and soon re- 
placed the English pounds, shillings and pence in commer- 
cial transactions. 

Amendments to the Constitution. — While ratification 
of the Constitution was pending a pledge had been given by 
the Federalists that Congress, at its first session, should pro- 
vide an opportunity for amending it. This was done and 



THE FEDERALISTS IN CONTROL 227 

eighty amendments were suggested. Most of them guaran- 
teed those rights which are termed "natural" or "funda- 
mental." They are the rights which Englishmen had claimed 
for centuries, such as to speak and write freely of the gov- 
ernment, to petition their rulers, and to demand a trial by 
jury. Twelve of these amendments were submitted to the 
states, and before 1791 ten of them had been adopted.* Two 
of these, the ninth and tenth, reserved to the states indi- 
vidually, or to the people, "all powers not especially dele- 
gated to Congress." These had been permitted by the 
Federalists in hope of allaying the fear of tyranny felt by 
their op]:)onents. 

The Whisky Insurrection. — The distilling of whisky 
was carried on largely by the farmers in the western coun- 
ties of Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina. When 
the news of the tax laid by Congress on whisky reached 
them, they were indignant. Prejudiced against the planters 
and townsmen of the eastern counties, they had resented 
bitterly their control of the state government and congres- 
sional elections. These fearless westerners regarded this 
tax as a special discrimination aimed at themselves by 
eastern aristocrats, and prepared to resist it as they had 
the Stamp Act twenty-five years before. Fiercely worded 
resolutions of protest were passed, and revenue ofBcers 
were mobbed and even had their houses burned. The 
few who were willing to obey the law were prevented by 
threats from masked bands, calling themselves "Whisky 
Hoys." In 1794 troops were sent by the government to 
arrest the ringleaders and quell the disorder. Thus Wash- 
ington taught that no one is privileged to resist with vio- 
lence the laws of the land. 

New states admitted. — The reluctance of Rhode Island 
and North Carolina to ratify the Constitution placed them 

* The pupils should read and discuss thcsu aniendnients which are found on 
pages xvi-xxii of the Appendix, 



lis. 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



in the position of foreign countries, after the Federal Gov- 
ernment was organized. Had Congress not been kindh 
disposed, their vessels Avould have been subjected to the 
tonnage taxes imposed on those of other foreign countries. 
In 1789 North Carolina finally ratified the Constitution with 
certain suggested amendments. Not until the next year 
would the Rhode Island authorities call a convention, and 
even then that state did not ratify it until all commercial 
relations with her had been forbidden by Congress. 

In 1791, Vermont, which had set up an independent gov- 
ernment during the war, was admitted as the fourteenth 
state. The next year, with the consent of Virginia, the set- 
tlers in her western counties south of the Ohio at last real- 

^__ , __ _„„^ ized their ambition 

to become a separate 
state — the "Coni- 
nionwe^dth of Ken- 
tucky." By 1796 the 
"Territory South of 
the Ohio River" had 
gained enough pop- 
ulation to enable it 
to secure admission 
as the state of Ten- 
nessee, so that there were now sixteen states. 

The French Revolution. — The United States was but a 
few weeks old when Louis XVI of France had to face re- 
volt as did Charles I of England a hundred and fifty years 
before; and likewise ultimately met death at the hands of 
his subjects. For centuries the king of France had made 
the laws without any reference to the wishes of his people. 
Three-fourths of the taxes were paid by the peasantry and 
the working classes of the towns, and it took nearly all 
that they could produce to pay them. Offenders against the 
"King's Laws" were cruelly punished, and the Bastille, a 




The First Capitol of Kentucky in 1796 



THE FEDERALISTS E\ CONTROL 



229 




The Execution of Louis XVI by the French Revolutionists in 1793 

Xdtire tlie ?ni!Iotine mi the ?caftViM 



liuge gloomy prison in Paris, was the scene of constant hor- 
rors. So bitter was the discontent of the masses that in 
1789. for the first time in over one hundred and fifty years, 
the king had summoned the States-General, as the old 
French Parliament was called. But so unwilling were the 
privileged classes — clergy and nobility — to bear a fair share 
of the taxes, that the representatives of the common people 
had withdrawn and formed the "National Assemblv." A 
"Reign of Terror" now began. On July 14, 1789. Parisian 
mobs, maddened by hunger, stormed the Bastille and razed 
it to the ground. The homes of the nobility were burned ; 
guillotines were set up in the large cities and thousands of 
the king's adherents were beheaded. 

On September 21. 1792. 1^'rance was ])roclaimed a re- 
public, and a constitution based on Libcrtc. Fratcrnitc and 
Rgalitc (Freedom, Brotherhood and iMjuality before the 
Law) was adopted. The tuonarchs of Euro])e soon had oc- 
casion to view with horror the progress of democracy in the 



ZM) OUR COUNTRY'S H J STORY 

new republic. Louis and his queen, Marie Antoinette, 
were led to the guillotine and publicly beheaded. Then the 
National Assembly issued a proclamation offering assistance 
to all peoples that would rise against their rulers. War was 
soon declared on England, Austria, Prussia and Spain, and 
for t^venty years Europe was almost constantly under arms 
to preserve the balance of power. At first the French revo- 
lutionists had the sympathy of the liberty-loving Americans. 
Later, on account of the extremes to which they went in 
their warfare, they lost mucli of this sympathy. ^ 

Troubles with France and England. — The Americans 
had shown themselves such good hghters that both England 
and France sought aid from the United States. Secretar}- 
Hamiltgij^favored the British cause. Jefferson the French ; 
but Washington decided that a policy of strict neutralit) 
would be best for the country. France was persistent, how- 
ever, and soon an agent named Genet arrived from I^a 
Republiquc fraiicaisc. Genet claimed that the treaty of alli- 
ance made during the Revolutionary W'dv botmd the United 
States to render aid to France at this time. As that treat)- 
had been made with the deceased Louis XV'L who had been 
dethroned without a successor, Washington considered il 
null and void. He insisted that the alliance had Ijeen one of 
defense against attack, and that in her present difttculties 
France had not been attacked but was the aggressor. Genet 
l)ecame violent and threatened to appeal to the peojile. The 
l)resident then issued a proclamation of neutrality and de- 
manded that France recall her agent. 

Meanwhile, Great Britain was still declining to fulfil the 
terms of the treaty of peace. She refused to surrender 
Oswego. Niagara, Detroit and other posts along the Cana- 
dian boundary, claiming that she was holding them as se- 
curity for certain debts, growing out of the war. owed to 
Loyalists and British merchants. English men-of-war 
halted .American ships and seized those members of their 



THE FEDERALISTS IX CONTROL 231 

crews who had been born in England. This was done on the 
pretext that a British subject could not renounce his citi- 
zenship. The Act of Parliament forbidding American ves- 
sels from entering British colonial ports was still in effect, 
though evaded in the West Indies by smugglers. Great 
Britain had failed to pay for the thousands of slaves taken 
from the South during the Revolutionary War. Aloreover, 
rdthough in strict accordance with the laws of war, Ameri- 
can vessels bearing "contraband goods," that is, supplies for 
an enemy's army or navy, were being seized by the British 
navy as they were on their way to France. 

Jay's treaty with England. — By 1794 the two countries 
were on the verge of war, and to prevent it Chief Justice 
Jay was sent to England. Jay negotiated a treaty by which 
Great Britain agreed to evacuate the forts, pay the sums of 
money due the Americans, and allow^ them to trade with 
her colonies ; but she refused to discontinue the practise 
of taking British-born xVmerican seamen from American 
vessels, and of interfering with merchantmen trading with 
France. Many Americans would have preferred to fight 
than agree to such terms. So bitter was the feeling that 
in numerous places crowds burned Jay in effigy. Hamilton 
was stoned by mobs while defending the treaty in a public 
speech. And even Washington had such abuse heaped on 
him, by reason of this obnoxious treaty, that he said he 
would rather be in his grave than be president. 

War with France imminent. — Irritated by the refusal 
of aid from the I'nited States, France took occasion to 
regard Jay's treaty as an alliance with England. She 
withdrew her minister and declined to receive one sent by 
Washington. Efforts were made to secure the cession of 
Louisiana from Spain in order to plant a strong colony of 
Frenchmen there. To restore friendly relations, John 
Vdams, who now had succeeded Washington as president, 
despatched to Paris three envoys, John Marshall, of Vir- 



232 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

ginia, Charles Pinckney, of South Carolina, and Elbridge 
Gerry, of Massachusetts. France was now ruled by five 
"directors." Agents of this Directorate informed the en- 
voys secretly that everything could be arranged if the United 
States would pay a tribute to the directors and make a loan 
lo the French Government. 

A copy of these proposals was sent to President Adams, 
who transmitted the document to Congress. This message 



(-•:■■ 



t^jiJtiUr*^ 



Tt^. fit.m^. n<f»-7f' fM/n^ t^fi*i 'if*'i'if*-^*^-^77'*^i'i^*^'- 

v'-.TP. /»*../ /<t li^if rA^^.1^ •«>«■» .S^j-^itf »1» .^^fA ^ 'T^jf ,''^ 

Uif. n<)4 fU^. qf9- "^■. ^'^^ ^f-^- 97*t^i- ffp' If*- /99^. <s««./-«"^2^ //p 

t*^. %S7. ^^j . p^. w. f^- f^n- "n- ^^"- /*»f ■ ^^^/''•*^'^^f *^^ 

x , ' -. ^ , , - Mi, » V jttti t.»ii> ■k^'y «<i^>»?»«'«*<' -_~- , „ ^ii.ti^ " 






Facsimile of a Portion of the "X Y Z Papers" 

The document was sent to the secretary of state in code (numbers') 
nnd the translation wns made nt Washington 

was called the "X Y Z Papers," because the French agents 
were referred to as Mr. X, Mr. Y and Mr. Z. Americans 
rightfully became angry and their sentiments were expressed 
by the slogan, "Millions for defense ; not one cent for 
tribute." 

Congress at once prepared for war. Washington was sum- 
moned from Alount Yernon and placed in command of the 
army. France retaliated by preying on .\merican commerce 
and capturing as many as a thousand vessels, lo arouse the 
fighting spirit of his countrymen Jose])h Ilopkinson. a Phila- 
delphia lawyer-poet, wrote the rousing song, Hail Coluuibia. 
Commodore Truxton put to sea with a squadron and cap- 
tured two French frigates. By this time Napoleon Bonaparte 
had made himself master of the French Government and, 



THK FRDKRALISTS IX CONTROL 233 




From. 1 pointing 1 1\ I .1' Kcssiter ami L. K. Mijri" 

Washin.uton at Mount Vernon 

engrossed in a mighty contlict with England. Austria and 
Russia, he had no disposition to be bothered by a petty 
difficulty with the United States. Peace, therefore, was 
easily concluded in 1800. 

Alien and Sedition Laws. — While the patriots of the 
country were stirred by the X Y Z difficulty. President 
Adams took the opportunity to try to put a stop to the bit- 
ter things which the Anti-Federalists w^ere saying and pub- 
lishing in opposition to his policy. He persuaded Congress 
to enact the Alien and Sedition Laws. The Alien Law- 
authorized the president to expel from the country any for- 
eigner whose presence seemed to him dangerous. Though 
never really enforced, this act highly incensed the foreign 
residents, particularly recent Irish and French immigrants. 
The Sedition Law provided a penalty for those who uttered 
or published false or malicious statements about the presi- 
dent or government. Under this law the editors of several 
newspapers were brought to trial. 



234 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

The Kentucky and Virginia resolutions. — The oppo- 
nents of a strong central government became alarmed over 
what they considered an invasion of the right of free speech 
and the liberty of the press, guaranteed by the Constitution. 
The legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky passed resolu- 
tions declaring the Alien and Sedition Laws unconstitu- 
tional. In these the contention was set up that a state could 
decide upon the constitutionality of Acts of Congress, and 
that it had a right to prevent the enforcement within its bor- 
ders of any act which it thought violated the Constitution. 
This was the doctrine of nullification. Virginia went so far 
as to prepare to exercise the right of secession which she 
had reserved at the time she ratified the Constitution. 

The two political parties. — The citizens of the United 
States of America were intensely loyal to the Constitution. 
Those who had opposed its adoption soon became its stanch 
supporters, and there was a general desire to make the new 
government enduring. In his selection of men for office 
Washington knew no such recommendation as "party loy- 
alty." He relied on three qualifications — integrity, capacity 
and conspicuousness. 

Differences of opinion about the meaning and application 
of the Constitution soon began to divide the people, and gave 
rise to two political parties. Hamilton and his followers be- 
lieved that the central government should have large au- 
thority. They constituted the Federalist party. Jefferson 
and his adherents insisted on limiting the powers of the 
central government to what the Constitution said it should 
do. They were at first called Republicans but later, when 
they favored the cause of the French Democrats, as the 
revolutionists were termed, they became known as Demo- 
crats or Democratic-Republicans. 

Federalists versus Democrats. — The Federalists included 
the large capitalists of the cities, the wealthy merchants, 
the manufacturers of New England and Pennsylvania, and 



THE FEDERALISTS TX CONTROL 235 

those engaged in commerce. The Democratic-Repubhcans 
represented the "landed interests," or the small farmers of 
the North and South. They looked upon the Constitution 
as merely an agreement between "sovereign states" from 
which any could withdraw at will. To them there was noth- 
ing disloyal in the idea of nullification. The Federalists 
held that the states surrendered their sovereignty when 
they ratified the Constitution and entered the Union, and 
that afterward they could not secede or exercise any "rights" 
that would endanger the integrity of the nation. 

The state versus the Union. — The question as to 
whether the states or the Union should be supreme i)roved 
to l)e a momentous one. For sixty )'ears it kept politics in 
a turmoil. Neither side would yield, and finally the Ijattle 
of the weak against the strong, of the authority of the part 
against that of the whole, had to be fought out with guns 
in a bloody war between the states. To-day the nation 
stands supreme. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. The Constitution provided for a new government. Ask your 

teacher to assist you in studying it. Memorize its preamble. 
Learn the duties of the executive, legislative and judicial de- 
partments. Our rights are set forth in the first eight amend- 
ments to the Constitution. Study them. How many amend- 
ments were added to the Constitution when Washington was 
president? How many have been added since? 

2. Whj' should the president have a Cabinet? Is it wise for a 

president to select his Cabinet officers from another party 
than his own? Name the men whom Washington appointed 
to his Cabinet. 
.\ ^^l^at was the most serious problem facing the new nation ? 
How did Hamilton propose to establish the credit of the 
United States? Why was his plan opposed? What did the 
location of the federal capital have to do with Hamilton's 
financial measures. Compare the District of Columbia on 
tlic map in your geography with that on page 225. What 
has happened? 



236 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

4. What is a tax on foreign goods called? What is the purpose of 

such a tax? What is meant by a "protective tariflf"? What 
was Hamilton's purpose in recommending a tax on whisky 
and rum? What was his purpose in recommending a national 
bank? Did he succeed in both cases? How? WHiat question 
was raised by the whisky insurrection ? 

5. Xame the new states created while the FtHleralists liad control 

of the government. 

6. The French Revolution was one of the most momentous events 

in the history of the world. When did this revolution begin 
and how long did it last? What was its cause? The people in 
America took sides. If you had been living when Washington 
was president, do 3'ou think you would have been for or 
against the French people? Give reason for j'our answer. 

7. Do you think Washington was wise in refusing to assist the 

French ? Laf aA-ette had assisted us. We fought with France 
against Germany in the World War of 1914-18. Why not 
then ? Debate : Resolved, that Washington acted wisely in 
refusing to give aid to France. 

8. What caused the ill-feeling toward England? What was 

Jay's Treaty? WHiat is the difiference between making a treaty 
and making a law? Why did so many people hate England 
and love France ? What were the "X Y Z Papers" ? How was 
war with France prevented? 
'>. What were the alien and sedition laws ? Do you believe they 
should have been passed? Why? Have we an alien law to- 
daj'? Wh}'? ^^'hat were the Virginia and Kentucky resolu- 
tions ? 
10. George Washington was one of the greatest statesmen of his- 
tory. Write in jour note-book an account of the character 
and achievements of Washington. Of George Washington, 
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and 
John Marshall, John Fiske writes : "In the making of the 
government under which we live these five names stand be- 
fore all others." Learn definitely what each of the last four 
(lid. 

.Sl'UIKCTS ]IIK ITRTllKU STUDY 

1. Causes and effects of the Frencli Revolution. 

2. Rise of political parties. 

RIOKERENCliS 

1. Spark's The Men Who Made the Nation, Chapters V and VI. 

2. l^lson's Side Lights on Ameriean History. Cha])tcrs III and IV. 
.5. Hart's Formation of the Union, pp. 103-171. 



CHAPTER XIX 



THE DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICANS IN POWER 



Thomas Jefferson, Prcsidoit, iSoi-i8op 



The election of Jefferson. — Until the Twelfth Amend- 
ment was added to the Constitution, political parties did not 
necessarily control presidential elections. Each elector 
voted for two candidates and the one receiving the larger 
number of votes was declared president, and the other 
vice-president. With the rise of political parties, the suc- 
cessful candidates 
could easily be op- 
posed to each other 
politically, and so the 
election would result 
in a president from 
one party and a vice- 
president from the 
other. This happened 
in John .\dams' ad- 
ministration, when 
Thomas Jefferson, a 
D e m o c r ;i t i c - Repub- 
lican, held second 
place. Well might the 
citizens, and espe- 
cially the politicians, 
view with alarm the 
result which probably 




□ Jefferson 

□ Adams 

Bilerritories —No Vote 

Distribution of Electoral Votes in 
the I'.k'Ction of 180() 



237 



238 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



would follow should death or disability remove the presi- 
dent from office while such a situation existed. 

The presidential election of 1800 a political revolution. 
— The campaign of 1800 was intensely bitter. Pointing to 
the Alien and Sedition Laws the Republicans accused the 
Federalists of being "Tories" and declared that, unless 
checked, they would change the republic into a monarchy. 
They insisted that those "aristocrats" had no sympathy at 
all for the "toiling masses." The Federalists denied this 
and called the Republicans "lying Jacobins" — the name given 
to the most bloodthirsty French revolutionists. They in- 
sisted that such incendiaries and anarchists would ruin the 
country. Beneath all the incrimination of the campaign 
there was much popular discontent with the rapidly increas- 
ing cost of the Federal Government, which had become two 
hundred per cent, greater than in 1792. 




IT92 1797 1801 

Washingfon Adams 



, 1605 
Jefferoon 



809 1813 1817 

Madison 

How tin- F.xpeiiflitiires of the Federal GnverntTient Increased 



THE DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICANS IN POWER 



239 



in the election Ihomas Jefferson, of \ irginia, and Aaron 
Burr, of New York, the Republican contestants, tied for 
lirst place, and John Adams came third. It devolved u])on 
the House of Representatives to settle the matter, and after 
a bitter contest, this Federalist body gave the presidency to 
Jeft'erson, as had been the intention of the voters. Four 
vears later the Constitution was so amended that, in the fu- 




Plloto fioui Vnderwuud & Undcru ood 

Thomas Jefferson 



\ 



240 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

ture, the electors would vote by separate ballot for presi- 
dent and vice-president. 

Jeffersonian simplicity. — lioth Washington and Adams 
were aristocrats in their manners. They were dignified in 
bearing and fastidious in dress ; they surrounded themselves 
with many servants and traveled in elaborate coaches. In- 
terviews with them were strictly by appointment. The 
weekly receptions were formal affairs where guests were 
greeted with ceremonious bo\vs. Jefferson and his follow- 
ers disapproved of this aloofness and proposed to replace 
the "stiff bow" with the more democratic handshake." 

On March 4, 1801, Jefferson was inaugurated president 
with the utmost simplicity. Instead of riding in state to the 
Capitol he walked there from his boarding-house and. 
dressed as a plain citizen, took the solemn oath of office. 
In his inaugural address Jefferson said that the government 
should consider the wishes of the whole people and he made 
an appeal for their cooperation in these words : "Let us 
then, fellow-citizens, unite wnth one heart and one mind. 
.... We all have been called by different names, breth- 
ren of the same principle. . . . \\'e are all Republicans; 
we are all Federalists." He also urged "equal and exact 
justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious 
or political ; peace, commerce and honest friendship with 
all nations, entangling alliance with none." 

Jefferson begins the practise of sending written mes- 
sages to Congress. — Jeff'erson abhorred formality. In- 
stead of reading his messages to Congress in joint session, 
as his predecessors had done, he communicated his views to 
it in writing. There were no more formal receptions but a 
cordial welcome awaited any visitor at the new and still un- 
fmished "White House." Neither president before him had 
appeared on the streets except in a "coach and four,"' but 
this ])lriin man of the people rode to the Caj)itol on bdrsc- 



THE DIQIOCRATIC-RKPUBLICAXS IX POWER 241 

back and tied his horse to the hitching post with his own 
hands. He did not think it always necessary to "dress up 
for company," and on one occasion received the British 
ambassador in the dressing-gown and sHppers he happened 
to be wearing at the time. 

Making the country more democratic. — Jefferson 
needed all his courage and tact to meet the opposition to his 
ideas. The government offices were filled with Federalists. 
The Supreme Court was unfriendly to the Republican doc- 
trine of state rights and "strict construction," especially 
since just before going out of office President Adams had 
appointed John Marshall, an ardent Virginia Federalist, as 
chief justice. Nevertheless, the promised reforms were 
carried out. Believing that the ship owners should get along 
in time of peace without the protection of war-ships, Jeffer- 
son cut down the navy. Abandoning the threatening policy 
of the Federalists in dealing with foreign nations, he was 
able to reduce the army. The good will of the small farmers 
in remote settlements was restored when Congress, on the 
president's recommendation, repealed the obnoxious inter- 
nal taxes. By strict economy in the conduct of the govern- 
ment, Albert Gallatin, his efficient secretary of treasury, 
was able to begin the reduction of the national debt. All of 
these reforms had been effected without disturbing the pros- 
perity of the nation, and as a result Jeft'erson carried nearly 
every state in the election of 1804. 

Napoleon's American scheme. — Soon after Napoleon 
i')Onaparte made peace with the United States in 1800. he 
persuaded Spain to make a secret treaty with him ceding 
Louisiana to France in exchange for a small province in 
Italy. During the next two years he had won a series of 
battles that made him master of Europe, but still his ambi- 
tion was not realized. Aiming to build up for France a world 
empire he turned his attention to America. Formerly the 



242 



OUR COUNTRY'S lliSTORV 



French had a colony on the western end of Haiti, but in 
1791 its inhabitants had declared their independence. Na- 
poleon now despatched an expedition thither to compel them 
to return to their former allegiance for it w^as his intention 

to use this colon}- 
as a base for the 
French coloniza- 
tion of Louisiana. 
The Dominicans, as 
the inhabitants 
were called, led b}- 
a negro general. 
Touissaint L'Ou- 
verture, resisted 
valiantly and were 
assisted by an epi- 
demic of yellow 
fever that almost 
wiped out the 
Frenchmen. Na- 
poleon's schemes 
had gone amiss 
and by this time he 
had need of all his 
forces at home. He was about to become involved in a 
struggle with England which was destined not to close until 
liis meteoric career had been ended. 

The westerners covet New Orleans. — New Orleans 
was the gateway to the vast area sloping westward from the 
.Appalachians to the Mississippi River. Its half million peo- 
ple produced large quantities of grain, pork, cheese, butter 
and whisky, which they had much difficulty in transporting 
to market. To freight it by the newly-made highway lead- 
ing west from Philadelphia cost one hundred and twenty- 




Napoleon Bonaparte 



THE DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICANS IN POWER 243 

five dollars a ton, a prohibitive price. From the settlements 
in the Ohio Valley to New Orleans was a long journey. 
The sluggish river offered so much danger from sandbars 
and snags, and such insecure anchorage, that sailing vessels 
did not attempt to ascend even to the mouth of the Ohio. 
Excepting droves of hogs which were frequently driven 
across the mountains to market, the produce of this section 
had to be floated on flatboats to New Orleans. Here it was 
sold to merchants who had it shipped by sea to Atlantic 
ports. Most of the flatboats were home-made affairs which 




1 etching 



Western "Arks." as tlie Flatboats Were Popularly Called, 
at New Orleans 

were broken up and disposed of as lumber when they 
reached their destination. 

Friction with the Spanish in New Orleans. — The rapid 
settling. of the western lands, which had begun before 
the close of the Revolutionary War, was attended by con- 
stant friction with the Spanish authorities at New Or- 
leans. Although by treaty Spain had agreed that the navi- 
gation of the Mississippi should be free, her officials there 
exacted such large fees for permission to sell goods that it 
often cost the westerners one-fifth of the value of their mer- 
chandise to be allowed to dispose of it. In 1795 the United 
States finally persuaded Spain to agree that goods from its 
western settlements might be taken into New Orleans and 
stored there for reshipment free of any taxation. Regard- 



244 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

less of this when the governor was officially informed that 
Louisiana had been ceded to France he suddenly closed the 
port to all river commerce (October 16, 1802). The west- 
erners were furious and threatened to make war independ- 
ently. This time, in their demands, they had the sympathy 
of the seaboard states. Previously the latter had opposed 
trouble with Spain over the river commerce, but now they 
were alarmed at the prospect of a French province on the 
west. 

The purchase of Louisiana. — When rumors of the se- 
cret treaty between France and Spain reached Jefferson he 
Was much disturbed and wrote : "There is on the globe one 
single spot, the possessor of which is our natural and ha- 
bitual enemy. It is New Orleans." He authorized Robert 
Livingston, Minister to France, to make secret advances to 
the French Government in reference to securing West 
Florida and New Orleans. 




Facsimile of the Signatures to the Treaty Ceding 
Louisiana to the United States 



THE DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICANS IN POWER 



245 



Before Napoleon could take possession of his American 
province Great Britain had declared war on him. In need 
of money for the new war and alarmed lest Great Britain 
might seize the territory, the emperor decided to sell it. 
Jefiferson had sent James Monroe to assist Livingston in 
negotiating a purchase of New Orleans and a strip extend- 
ing to the gulf. After some haggling Livingston and Mon- 
roe agreed to pay fifteen million dollars for the entire "col- 
ony or province of Louisiana, with the same extent that it 
now has in the hands of Spain." This purchase added over 
eight hundred thousand square miles to the United States 
and more than doubled its area. Napoleon seems to have 
been the only one who fully appreciated the importance of 
the transaction, 
for, while sign- 
ing the transfer, 
he remarked : 
"This accession 
of territory es- 
tablishes forever 
the power of the 
United States. I 
have given to 
England a mari- 
time rival that 
will sooner or 
later humble her 
pride." 

Jefferson 
criticized by 
Federalists. — 
Many American 
politicians, how- 
ever did not be- Raising the American Flag at New Or- 
' 'leans during the Ceremonies Attending 
lieve that future the Transfer of Louisiana 




I 



246 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

advantage justified such a disregard of "constitutional 
rights." Never had the FederaHsts assumed such flexibility 
for the Constitution as did the agents of the Republican 
administration, and now it was these loose constructionists 
who raised the cry of unconstitutionality. After a long de- 
bate, the Senate finally approved the treaty, and on Decem- 
ber 29, 1803, the lowering of the French tri-colors in New 
Orleans and the raising of the stars and stripes proclaimed 
that Louisiana had become part of the United States. 

Organization of the public domain. — The people of the 
newly-acquired domain were French and Spanish. Not only 
did they speak foreign tongues but they were, of course, 
wholly unfamiliar with the new government to which they 
now owed allegiance. For these reasons Congress did not 
deem the province capable of any degree of self-govern- 
ment, and divided it into two territories, called Orleans and 
Louisiana. Both were to be governed direct from Washing- 
ton, but such strong protests were at once made by the in- 
habitants of the southern territory (Orleans) that in 1805 
they were allowed to organize a territorial government. 

Admission of Ohio and organization of new territories. 
— In 1803 the Territory of Ohio was admitted as the seven- 
teenth state, and the remainder of the Northwest Territory 
was then divided into two new territories — Indiana, with 
its capital at Vincennes, and Michigan, administered from 
Detroit. The year before, Georgia had ceded the lands 
lying west of her present limits to the Federal Govern- 
ments, and these were organized into the Mississippi Terri- 
tory, with Tennessee as its northern boundary and the 
Mississippi River as its western. 

Indian policy in new territories. — A definite policy for 
dealing with the Indians in these new territories was adopted. 
Their lands were to be purchased from them in large tracts 
and thrown open for settlement. Efiforts were to be made 
to teach the red men civilized ways of living and to induce 



THE DEAIOCRATIC-REPUBLICAXS IX POWER 247 

them to take up farming. Jefferson foresaw that unless 
they would "intermix and become one people" with the 
white settlers, they must eventually be pushed beyond the 
Mississippi. 

The Hudson Bay Company. — About 1670 two French- 
men, Radisson and Groseilliers, went to England to seek 
aid in establishing a fur-trading company to operate north 
and west of the Great Lakes. In this proposition Charles II 
saw a chance to enrich his impoverished cousin, Prince Ru- 
pert. He therefore granted a charter to the "Honourable 
Company of Merchant Adventurers Trading into Hudson's 
Bay," and Prince Rupert became its nominal head. By the 
terms of this charter the company was permitted to operate 
throughout the region drained by the streams flowing into 
the bay, but "not to trespass within the territory occupied 
by any other Christian prince." The agents in America 
were far from headquarters and did about as they pleased. 
The result was that they pushed far beyond the established 
bounds and built up a profitable trade with the Indians in 
the Northwest. 

The Pacific coast fur trade. — In 1728, Vitus Bering, a 
Dane in the Russian service, discovered the straits separat- 
ing Asia from North America. By the beginning of the 
Revolutionary War the Russian Government had built a 
fort at Sitka, Alaska, and its fur-traders were creeping 
slowdy down the coast toward the Spanish settlements in 
California. At about this time Captain James Cook, an 
English trader, arrived in the North Pacific and took on 
some sealskins. When Cook reached China he easily sold 
there for fifteen thousand dollars furs which the Indians 
had been glad to exchange for a common steel chisel. As 
soon as news of this got abroad many traders set sail for 
the North Pacific. Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island be- 
came their rendezvous and both England and Spain laid 
claim to it. In 1790 the two nations came to an a<rreement 



248 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

by which the Oregon country, as the region north of Cali- 
fornia came to be called, should be open to trade and settle- 
ment by subjects of either. 

American trade with East India and China. — We have 
seen how Great Britain, after she had acknowledged the 
independence of the United States, tried to ruin the com- 
merce of the new nation, by forbidding its vessels to trade 
with the British West Indies. This forced American ship 
owners to seek new trading opportunities farther from 
home, and gave rise to the valuable East India and China 
trade through which Salem, Boston and New York mer- 
chants grew rich. Other vessels went on whaling and fur- 
trading voyages to northern Pacific waters. In 1792, Cap- 
tain Robert Gray, on a whaling voyage from Boston, steered 
his ship Cohitnbia into the river which still bears the name 
of that vessel, the first to navigate its waters. 

Exploration of the Far West. — Long before he became 
president, Thomas Jefferson believed that the territory west 
of the Mississippi as far as the Pacific must some time in 
the future be part of the United States. Early in his ad- 
ministration he induced Congress to appropriate twenty-five 
hundred dollars to equip an expedition to explore the head 
waters of the Missouri, for purposes of trade and laying 
out an overland route to the Oregon Country. Immedi- 
ately after the purchase of Louisiana, Jefferson's private sec- 
retary, Meriwether Lewis, started for St. Louis to make 
preparations for this expedition. 

The expedition of Captains Lewis and Clark. — On May 
14, 1805, Captain Lewis and William Clark, brother of 
George Rogers Clark, launched their boats at St. Louis 
and started for the source of the Missouri, three thou- 
sand miles away. The company, numbering forty-five, in- 
cluded carpenters, blacksmiths, experienced hunters and ex- 
perts in natural history to report on the plant and animal 
life met along the way. The first winter was spent near 



THE DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICANS IN POWER 



249 



the present site of Bismarck, North Dakota. In the spring 
they were guided to the source of the Missouri by an Indian 
squaw, Sacajawea (meaning "Bird Woman"), the wife of 
their French Canadian interpreter. Securing ponies from 
the Indians the httle cavalcade crossed the Continental Di- 
vide and descended into the Columbia basin. Here new 
l)oats were built in which the explorers floated down that 
stream to the Pacific. They pitched their camp on a sandy 
beach just south of the inlet and spent the winter there. 
Early the next spring the return journey was begun and St. 
Louis was reached in September. The expedition had been 
gone nearly two years and a half, and its members had been 
given up for lost by their families and friends. 

The expedition of Lieutenant Pike. — At about the 
same time that the Lewis and Clark expedition started, 
Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike was ordered to take a de- 
tachment of soldiers and follow the Mississippi to its 
source. He succeeded in reaching Cass Lake, near the 
Canadian border, and returned to St. Louis. In 1806 Pike 
started on a new expedition in search of the source of the 
Red River, which separated Louisiana from the Spanish 
territory lying to the 
southwest. Crossing 
what is now Missouri 
and Kansas, he fol- 
lowed the Arkansas 
River to the moun- 
tain which to-day 
bears his name. 

Turning south, aft- 
er most trying experi- 
ences in traveling 

over lofty mountains 

1 ., 1 J 1 The Spanish Governor's Palace at 

and through densely ^ 5^,^^^ p^ 

forested valleys, Pike it is now used as a museum 




250 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

and his party reached the Rio Grande, which they beheved 
to be the Red River. Soon after, they were caught trespass- 
ing in New Mexico by the Spaniards and taken before the 
authorities at Sante Fe. Convinced that the travelers were 
on a peaceful mission, the governor ordered them to be 
escorted to the Red River and set free. 

By these explorations the people of the United States 
gained accurate information concerning the extent and re- 
sources of Louisiana, and the nation was better able to set 
up a stronger claim to the Oregon Country than the mere 
discovery of the mouth of the Columbia by Captain Gray 
would have afforded. 

Foreign invasion of our rights. — Jefferson was opposed 
to war. His main concern was for prosperity, and he be- 
lieved that disputes between nations should be settled by ar- 
gument rather than force, especially since war always in- 
curred public debt, and that meant high taxes. Yet he 
was compelled to send a squadron to the Mediterranean 
for the protection of American commerce against the Moor- 
ish pirates of the Barbary states — Morocco, Algiers, Tunis 
and Tripoli. For years the nations of Europe had bribed 
these sea robbers to let their merchantmen alone and the 
United States had done likewise. The pasha of Tripoli be- 
came dissatisfied with the eighty-three thousand dollars he 
received and began seizing American vessels and enslaving 
their crews. News of these outrages reached the president 
at the same time as that of Napoleon's acquisition of Lou- 
isiana and the prospect of hostilities there. The war with 
the Tripolitans lasted four years, and was finally won with 
the aid of the pasha's exiled brother, who was induced to 
make a land attack from the desert. The experience in 
naval warfare received by the young officers was a valuable 
preparation for the greater war soon to follow. 

Great Britain seizes American sailors. — Great Britain 
was now putting forth every effort to defeat Napoleon. 



THE DEAIOCRATIC-REPUBLICAXS IX POWER 



251 



She endeavored to recruit her naval forces by renewing 
the impressment of United States seamen. Not only were 
Englishmen on American vessels seized but native-born 
Americans as well. In 1807 the Leopard, a British man- 
of-war, hailed the United States frigate Chesapeake off 




A iJnusli Press Gang Seizing a Man for the Royal Navy 
Any man who spoke English was liable to seizure 



the Virginia coast and demanded the right to search the 
vessel for "deserters." When this was refused, a broadside 
from the Leopard killed one and wounded twenty-one of the 
crew and compelled the surrender of the Chesapeake. The 
Atlantic sealjoard resounded with a demand for w^ar with 
England, just as the Mississippi Valley had a few years be- 
fore for vengeance on Spain. The president exacted a 
half-hearted apology from Great Britain, and warned British 
men-of-war from American waters ; but would not abandon 
his peace policy. 



252 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

Effect of Napoleon's policy. — The war between France 
and England came to be spoken of as a "contest between an 
Elephant and a Whale." The French armies were supreme 
on land, while the British navy swept the seas. As British 
men-of-war were ready to pounce upon any vessel flying the 
French flag, France had to procure supplies by a roundabout 
method. The products of the French West Indies were 
brought to United States ports and then transported to 
France in American "bottoms," for which the Yankees re- 
ceived large returns. Because of this merchandise passing 
through its ports the revenue of the United States increased 
by leaps and bounds. To stop this subterfuge Great Britain 
suddenly ordered the seizure of all such cargoes. 

Destruction of American commerce. — Napoleon knew 
that Great Britain's wealth depended on her commerce. 
He believed that by crippling this he could force her to 
accept his terms just as effectually as if the French armies 
were able to get across the Channel and invade England. 
Since he controlled all the ports from the Baltic Sea to 
the Adriatic, the emperor decided to inaugurate his "Con- 
tinental System" which forbade English vessels to enter 
any of them. Great Britain retaliated with her "Orders 
in Council" (1806), blockading northern Europe from the 
mouth of the Elbe to Brest ; and later all trade was 
forbidden with France and her allies. Napoleon then is- 
sued a decree forbidding all neutral trade with England. 
Although these measures were not legal, since a blockade to 
be binding must be enforced by sufficient war-ships outside 
the port to be able to prevent a vessel from entering, they 
were threatening the commerce of the United States with 
destruction. Any merchantman bound for France or Eng- 
land was liable to seizure, and during the following seven 
years American ship owners lost over fourteen hundred ves- 
sels. Jefferson protested to the British Government, and 
finally obtained its promise that American vessels bour.d 



THE DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICANS IN POWER . 253 

for ports controlled by France would not be molested. It 
was provided, however, that they must not carry "contra- 
band" articles and that they should put into British ports 
and pay a large license fee. Napoleon determined to block 
this revenue-raising scheme, and ordered all ships purchas- 
ing such license confiscated on their arrival in French ports. 
The Embargo Act. — The president decided to try to 
bring England and France to a sense of their dependence on 
America for sup- 



SUNIURLL IWILLRUI NUS 

plies, ana inducea uniurlliwowi llru inu 
Congress to enact niurll iwogowi llruin 

fV, "T7 K A f" I U R L L I W O G R G O W I L L R U I 

the embargo Act urlliwog rargowi llru 

( 1807) . This pro- rlliwograbargowi llr 

hi'Ki'fprI Am^^iVoti lliwograbmbargowill 

niDiiea /American liwograbm embargowil 

vessels from leav- lliwograbmbargowill 
in? the United Rlliwograbargowi llr 

lug luc ^uxLcu uRLLIWOGRARGOWILLRU 

States for foreign iurlliwogrgowi llrui 
ports and also for- niurlliwogowillruin 

[ . UNIURLLIWOWILLRUINU 

bade foreign ves- suniurlliwt llruinus 

sels from taking tu r- v, -d t, ^ m 

_ => ihe Embargo Rebus from a Newspaper 

on cargoes in of the Day 

the United States. in how many ways does it spell 

_,, _, "Embargo will ruin us"? 

1 he Embargo Act 

availed the country nothing for, although the British mer- 
chants clamored loudly, their government did not modify 
its "Orders in Council." In the United States the situa- 
tion was distressing. The seizure of shipping had been 
bad enough, but that loss had fallen on the wealthy own- 
ers. Now the whole country was affected. Hundreds of 
vessels were tied up to the wharves ; between thirty and 
forty thousand sailors were out of work ; the southern 
planters and western farmers could not dispose of their 
produce ; money was scarce and every one wanted to sell 
out. There was an enormous increase in smuggling goods 
to Florida and the West Indies, from which the dishonest 



254 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



made large profits. When the government passed laws 
to prevent this the New Englanders became enraged. 
State officials encouraged the ship owners to disregard them 
and it looked at one time as though secession might result. 
The legislatures of Massachusetts and Connecticut, fol- 
lowing the example set by Virginia and Kentucky a few 
years before, resolved that a state had the right to nullify 
the obnoxious "O Grab Me" Act, as it was sarcastically 
called (spelling "embargo" backward). Public sentiment 
was so aroused that Jefferson was compelled within a year 
to consent to the lifting of the embargo. Congress then 
substituted a "Non-Intercourse Act." This permitted trade 
with all nations except France and England, but, as there 
was little commerce to be had with other nations than these, 
it is doubtful whether much relief was aft'orded. 

Jefferson refuses a third term. — President Jeft'erson re- 
fused to listen to the entreaties of his friends to become a 

candidate for a third 
term. He declared, 
"General Washington 
set the example of a 
voluntary retirement 
after eight years. I 
shall follow it, and a 
few more precedents 
will oppose the ob- 
stacle of habit, after a 
while, to any who 
shall endeavor to ex- 
tend his term.'' And from that day to this no president, no 
matter how much he wishes to see his i)olicies continued, has 
accepted a nomination for a third term. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. No president did more to shape the poHcy of our government 
than did Thomas Jefferson. Tabulate in your note-book all 




"Monticello," Jefferson's Home Near 
Charlottesville, Virginia 



THE DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICANS IN POWER 255 

the facts you can find about him. He was a versatile man in 
his accomplishments. What does this mean ? What did Jeffer- 
son do to make our country more democratic ? Debate : Re- 
solved, that Jefferson was a greater statesman than Wash- 
ington. 

2. Write in your note-book a clear statement regarding the Louisi- 

ana Purchase, the greatest event in Jefferson's administra- 
tions, using the following outline : (a) Why Napoleon was 
willing to sell Louisiana, (b) Why Jefferson was willing to 
purchase Louisiana, (c) Method of purchase, (d) Result of 
purchase, (e) What was done with the new domain. Draw 
a map of this territory and locate the states and parts of 
states carved out of it. 

3. What position did Jefferson take in regard to the country west 

of the Mississippi River? Write in your note-book a descrip- 
tion of the explorations of Lewis and Clark. What was the 
Oregon Country? What was the purpose of the Pike expedi- 
tion? What good results came from these expeditions? 

4. Name the countries that interfered with the rights of American 

citizens and explain how Jefferson managed the situation. 
Did his plan have public approval? Do you think his foreign 
policy showed strength or weakness? Give reason for your 
answer. What was the effect of the Embargo Act on Amer- 
ican shipping? Why was it repealed? 

5. Why did Jefferson refuse to become a candidate for a third 

term? Is it wise to limit the presidency of a great statesman 
to two terms only? 

SUBJECTS I'OR FURTHER STUDY 

L The Political Revolution of 1800. 

2. Jeffersonian democracy. 

3. Napoleon's American scheme. 

4. Exploration of the country west of the Mississippi River. 

REFERENCES 

1. Hart's Foriiiation of the Union, pp. 176-209. 

2. Elson's Side Lights on /hncrican History, Chapter VI. 

3. Spark's The Men Who Made the Nation, Chapter VII. 

4. McMurry's Pioneers of the Roeky Mountains and the IVest, 

Chapter I. 

5. Tappan's Anicricaii Hero Stories, pp. 207-217. 



CHAPTER XX 
WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN 

James Madison, President, j8op-i8iy 

Repeal of the Non-Intercourse Act. — James Madison, 
who succeeded Thomas Jefferson as president, had been 
secretary of state in his Cabinet and was equally favorable 
to a policy of peace. By strict economy the Democratic- 
Republicans had paid off forty million dollars of the na- 
tional debt and they did not wish to start now increasing it. 

The Eml^argo Act had greatly irritated both England and 
France and they retaliated by seizing every American vessel 
possible. In 1809, shortly before Madison became presi- 
dent, the British minister at Washington agreed that the 
"Orders in Council" should be lifted if the United States 
would repeal its Non-Intercourse Act. Congress, in special 
session, hastened to repeal the obnoxious act, with a proviso 
that should either of the warring powers withdraw its meas- 
ures against neutral commerce then it would at once be 
revived with respect to the other. Madison then issued a 
proclamation that commerce might be renewed with Great 
Britain and a whole fleet of American ships set sail for 
England. \Mien they arrived the captains found that the 
British Government had not authorized the agreement, and 
that the "Orders in Council" were still in force. 

Napoleon's trick. — Napoleon pretended friendship for 
the United States and apparently suspended his decrees for- 
bidding trade with England, so that the Non-Intercourse Act 
would be lifted against France. As soon as enough Ameri- 

256 



WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN 



25; 



can ships had come into French ports to make it worth while, 
he suddenly ordered them confiscated and thus captured 
"prizes" worth over ten million dollars. 

At last Madison decided to take steps to protect Ameri- 
can shipping. He ordered a squadron to patrol the coast 
and to stop the British men-of-war, which still hovered just 
outside the principal ports, from holding up and searching 
American vessels. One of this squadron, the frigate Presi- 
dent, fought a duel with the British war-ship Little Belt, 
not far from the Virginia Capes. In the engagement the 
Little Belt was so badly damaged that the United States felt 
the "Chesapeake outrage" had at last been avenged. 

Indian difBculties. — For some time the settlers in the 
Northwest Territory had looked with longing eyes on the 
fertile lands belonging to the red men in dififerent parts of 
that country, but the Indians had shown little disposition to 
part with them. The European wars had put a stop to all 
demand for furs and many of the Indians were actually suf- 
fering for necessities. This gave General William H. Har- 
rison, the governor of Indiana Territory, an opportunity to 
purchase several large tracts in the Kaskaskia region and 
along the Wabash River. Some of the tribes which had not 




The Battle of Tippecanoe near Lafayette. Indiana 



258 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

been party to the sale resented the invasion of settlers in 
what had been their ancestral hunting-grounds. Tecumseh 
and his brother, The Prophet, two Shawnee chieftains, de- 
clared that the lands were the common property of the In- 
dians and that they could not be sold without joint action by 
all the related tribes. Urged on without doubt by British of- 
ficials in Canada, they planned a conspiracy of the tribes be- 
tween the Alleghany IMountains and the Mississippi River. 
While Tecumseh was visiting some of the southern Indians 
on this mission. General Harrison set out from Vincennes 
and attacked The Prophet's village on Tippecanoe River, a 
branch of the Wabash. In this fight the Indians were so com- 
pletely routed that there was no more serious difficulty with 
them in that particular section. 

As a result of Tecumseh's appeals, the Creeks, who lived 
in what is now Alabama, became incensed against the whites 
and attacked Fort Mimms, near Mobile, murdering over 
four hundred of the inhabitants (1813). By the end of the 
year seven thousand men from Georgia, Tennessee and 
Mississippi Territory had set out for the Creek country to 
put a stop to such outrages forever. After some skirmishes, 
General Andrew Jackson, with a force of Tennessee sharp- 
shooters, surrounded the main body of Indians at Horse- 
shoe Bend on the Tallapoosa River. Most of the Creeks 
who escaped from this battle fled to Florida. The Creek 
power was broken and soon after they were compelled to 
part with most of their lands. 

. War is declared. — When Congress assembled in De- 
cember, 1811, the new leaders of the House of Representa- 
tives were eager for war with Great Britain. They were 
young men who knew nothing directly of the suffering occa- 
sioned by the Revolutionary War. Henry Clay, of Ken- 
tucky, was made speaker. From South Carolina came John 
C. Calhoun, destined for forty years to be the leading ex- 
ponent of southern views on the floors of Congress. A new 



WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN 259 

face on the Federalist side was Daniel Webster, a brilliant 
young Massachusetts lawyer. 

Feeling against Great Britain ran high among the south- 
ern and western delegations. The "War Hawks," as the 
followers of Clay and Calhoun were called, cherished the 
Republican sympathy for France, and with eloquent pleas 
for "sailors' rights," they demanded war on England. Clay 
even insisted that the "militia of Kentucky alone" could cap- 
ture Upper Canada and then peace could be dictated from 
Halifax or Quebec. Calhoun, in disgust with the president, 
declared, "W^e have had a peace like a zvar." The Fed- 
eralist members from New England violently opposed the 
"War Hawks." They were subservient to interests which, 
because of long-standing commercial relations, naturally 
sympathized with England in her Napoleonic wars. They 
insisted that the "administration could not be kicked into 
a war," and charged that the whole business was a scheme 
to aid Napoleon. 

Opposition to the wishes of his own party would mean de- 
feat for Madison in the election a few months ofif, so he 
sent a message to Congress recommending that it declare 
war on Great Britain for the following reasons : 

(1) Disrespect shown the American flag by the hailing 
of vessels and impressment of seamen. 

(2) The virtual blockading of American ports with war- 
ships. 

(3) Interference with American commerce by its "Or- 
ders in Council." 

(4) Inciting the Indians of the Northwest Territory to 
conspire against American citizens. 

On June 18, 1812, by order of Congress, President Mad- 
ison proclaimed a state of war existent between Great 
Britain and the United States. 

American unpreparedness and its results. — There was 
truth in the Federalist contention that "our enemy is the 



260 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



greatest maritime power that has ever been on the earth." 
The British navy was a formidable array of a thousand war- 
ships bristHng with from seventy to one hundred and twenty 
guns each. The British soldiers had learned the art of war 
through maneuvering against the world's greatest military 
genius. To meet these the United States had to depend on 
"an army of raw recruits yet to be raised, and a navy of 
gunboats stranded on the beaches and frigates that have 
long been rotting in the slime of the Potomac." Under the 
Democratic-Republican administration military expenditures 
had been small. The United States had but twelve regular' 
men-of-war, the largest carrying forty-four guns, and two 
hundred small gunboats useful for coast defense only. The 
little army of seven thousand was untrained and its officers 
incompetent. The war must be financed by the sale of 
bonds, for Congress would not vote any internal taxes. 

Canada was the natural place to start hostilities, and three 
armies were ordered to move forward for its invasion — one 
by way of Detroit, another by crossing over at Niagara, and 
the third by the old Hudson-Champlain route. It was in- 
tended for these expeditions to unite for the final reduction 
of the country, but the whole campaign ended in failure. 




From an old print 

Fort Dearborn and the Old Indian Agency on the 
Site of Chicago in 1812 



WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN 



261 



General William Hull surrendered Detroit to a force of Ca- 
nadians and Indians without any show of resistance. At 
Queenstown Heights, near Niagara, the Americans were 
driven back across the river. General Dearborn, command- 
ing the forces in the East, did not even reach Canadian soil. 
The United States was a long way from dictating terms at 
Quebec or Halifax, for the Canadians had overrun about 
half of Maine, much of the Lake Champlain region and all 
of Michigan ; and their Indian allies had taken Fort Dear- 
born, where Chicago now stands. 

War on the seas. — Three months after the declaration 
of war the American frigate Constitution met the British 
frigate Gnerricre 
off Nova Scotia 
and demon- 
strated the abil- 
ity of the "fir 
built things" to 
cope with the 
much boasted 
English navy. In 
half an hour the 
Guerriere was 
forced to sur- 
render, a shattered hulk without a spar left standing. The 
United States defeated the Macedonia off the African 
coast ; the Essex rounded Cape Horn and played havoc with 
the British whalers in the Pacific ; and the Hornet sank the 
Peacock in South American waters. So true was the fire of 
the American gunners that in a few months the British lost 
almost as many vessels as they had in twenty years' fighting 
with the French. Both English and American privateers 
preyed on each other's commerce, but here again the United 
States had the advantage. During the war the British losses 
numbered twenty-five hundred merchantmen and the Ameri- 




From an old iirint 

A "Hornet" Met a "Peacock" — Poor Peacock ! 



262 



OUR COUXTRV'S HISTORY 



can only one-fifth as many. So bold became the "Yankees" 
in their incursions about the British Isles that English ship 
owners were actually afraid to risk the short voyage to 
Ireland. 

Perry's brilliant victory on Lake Erie. — With possession 
of Michigan, the British only lacked control of Lake Erie to 
make them masters of the Northwest. Oliver H. Perry, a 




Perry Transferring His Flag during the Battle of Lake Erie 



young naval officer, was despatched to the Lake to prevent 
this. He built a fleet of small vessels from the timber 
which stood near the shore, and on September 10, 1813, gave 
battle to Commodore Barclay's squadron off Put-in-Bay. 
In the beginning of the engagement Perry's flagship Lazt.'- 
rence was shattered and all but eight of the crew either 
killed or wounded. Jumping into a rowboat the brave cap- 
tain transferred his flag to the Niagara amid a hot fire from 
the British war-ships. Fifteen minutes later Barclay was 
compelled to "strike his colors" and surrender what was left 
of his six ships. Tearing a page from a letter in his pocket. 



WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN 263 

Perry wrote to General Harrison, who was not far away 
in northeastern Ohio, "We have met the enemy and they are 
ours." Harrison at once set out for the invasion of Canada. 
At the Thames River he inflicted such a decisive defeat on 
the British and their Indian allies that Detroit and Michi- 
,2;an Territory were restored to American control. 

The last year of the vvrar. — Napoleon was defeated in 
1814 and England, rid of this enemy, could now turn her 
whole fighting strength against the United States. With 
her navy she began to "bottle up" the American war-ships 
as fast as they returned to United States ports. After that, 
it was only under cover of fog or darkness that Yankee 
captains were able to slip through the blockade and put to 
sea. Captain James Lawrence, venturing forth from Boston 
with the CJicsapcake, was overhauled by the Shannon. In 
the brief engagement which followed, every officer on board 
the Chesapeake was either killed or wounded. As Lawrence 
was being borne from the deck dying, he gasped, "Don't 
give up the ship !" which became at once the slogan of the 
American navy. 

With her fleets supported by a large army, Great Britain 
expected almost at the same time to reduce the Atlantic sea- 
board, invade the Northern States by way of Lake Cham- 
plain, and ascend the Mississippi River and take New Or- 
leans. On September 11, 1814, a small American squadron 
engaged the invaders on Lake Champlain not far from 
Plattsburg and although greatly outnumbered, captured most 
of their vessels. Alarmed by this disaster the British army, 
which was already across the border, retreated hastily to 
Canada, and the projected invasion was abandoned. 

Meanwhile, the war-ships were ravaging the coast. Ad- 
miral Cochrane entered Chesapeake Bay with twenty-one 
vessels and landed several thousand troops (August, 1814), 
which started overland for the purpose of laying waste 
Washington. So sudden was this invasion that President 



264 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




Ruins of the Capitol 

This picture is taken from an old book published soon after the burn- 
ing, which claimed the destruction was the revenge of justice for the 
sale of slaves in the District of Columbia 



Madison and his Cabinet barely escaped capture. The Cap- 
itol, the White House and other public buildings were set on 
fire to avenge the burning of the government building at 
York, now Toronto, Canada, a year before. Alexandria, 
on the Virginia side of the Potomac, was despoiled of large 
quantities of flour, cotton and tobacco. 

From Washington the British started for Baltimore, but 
their advance was so vigorously opposed that it was decided 
to halt and await the reduction of the city's principal de- 
fense, Fort McHenry, by the fleet. For a day and night this 
fort was subjected to a heavy bombardment, but its ramparts 
stood unshaken. Francis Scott Key, a young Baltimore law- 
yer, had gone within the British lines to seek the release of 
a friend detained there as a prisoner of war, and as the 
fight was about to begin he was held until it was over. From 
a vessel Key watched through the night the fiery rain of shot 
and shell which fell on Fort McHenry. In his joy at finding 
the flag still flying when the clouds lifted the next morning, 
he composed the stirring lines of The S tar-Spangled Banner: 



WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN 



265 



"Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early hght. 

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming. 

Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?" 



NEW ORLEANS AND VICINITY 



Disheartened by their failure to reduce the fort, the 
British gave up the attempt to take Baltimore and sailed 
away southward. Along the South Carolina coast they re- 
newed their depredations — plantations were pillaged, bridges 
destroyed and villages laid waste. 

The battle of New Orleans. — Their raiding of the coast 
completed, the British proceeded to New Orleans. They 
hoped to surprise the place and repeat the panic of Wash- 
ington. But to be ready for an attack General Jackson had 
been sent there with 
a strong force of 
Kentucky and Ten- 
nessee militiamen. 
Jackson anticipated 
that the British 
would not ascend 
the Mississippi from 
the Gulf, but instead 
try to slip in by the 
more circuitous route 
through the bayous 
and lakes to the east 
of New Orleans. 
From a smuggler he 
soon learned that a strong force under Sir Edward Paken- 
ham was approaching by way of Lake Borgne, and imme- 
diately began obstructing the bayous leading to the city. 
However, Jackson failed to close Bayou Bienvenu, and by 
this route Pakenham advanced to Chalmette Plantation, 
a few miles below New Orleans. During the next two 




Scale of Miles 



266 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



weeks the soldiers, aided by citizens and their slaves, built 
strong redoubts out of logs, earth and even cotton bales. 
By arming every available man, including convicts and free 
negroes, Jackson succeeded in mustering about seven thou- 
sand troops, while Pakenham had fully ten thousand. Early 
in the morning of January 8, 1815, the British moved for- 
ward to charge the American works. From within their 
entrenchments the keen-eyed Yankee gunners with deadly 




The Battle of New Orleans 

Notice in the background the British soldiers advancing in solid ranks 

aim mowed down column after column advancing in close 
formation. In twenty-five minutes it was over. General 
Pakenham along with two thousand of his men had met 
death, while on the American side only twenty-one had 
fallen. Soon after, the British withdrew to Pensacola where 
the news that a treaty of peace had been signed two weeks 
before the battle of New Orleans reached them. 

Opposition to the war. — The Federalists of New Eng- 
land had always opposed the war, but as it progressed they 
became intensely bitter. Injurious as the Embargo and 
Non- Intercourse Acts had been to them, the war was much 



WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIX 



267 



worse. Their coast towns had been raided ; their commerce 
destroyed ; their seaports blockaded. The government gave 
them no protection even after half of Maine had been in- 
vaded by Canadians. So disloyal were some of the gov- 
ernors that they refused to furnish militia for service out- 
side of their own states, or to allow them to serve under 
any but their owni officers. In 1813 the Massachusetts Sen- 
ate had resolved that "the war was waged without justifiable 
cause." Many wealthy New Englanders refused to buy gov- 
ernment bonds, but purchased those issued by Great Britain. 
The national debt had been tripled in two years, now being 
one hundred twenty-one million dollars, and many were sure 
the nation would never be able to pay its obligations. 

The Hartford Convention. — In December, 1814, dele- 




The Disloyalty of New England 

In this old cartoon Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut 
are about to jump into John Bull's arms, while Maine prays for guid- 
ance. 

(Mass.) — What a dangerous leap! but we must jump. Brother Conn. 

(Conn.) — I can not, Brother Mass. Let me pray and fast some lit- 
tle longer. Little Rhode Island will jump it first. 

(Rhode Is.) — Poor little I. What will liecnme of me' This leap is of 
frightful si7f. I sink into despondency. 



268 OUR COUXTRY'S HISTORY 

gates from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut 
met informally at Hartford to devise means of defense, 
and to arrange for calling a convention to revise the Con- 
stitution so as to reduce the influence of the Southern 
and Western States. As its meetings were secret many 
suspicions were aroused, and the Democratic-Republicans 
insisted the convention was laying plans for secession. Like 
the Virginia Resolutions of 1798, its report declared that the 
violation of the Constitution was so "deliberate, dangerous 
and palpable" as to endanger the liberties of the people 
and make it the duty of a state "to interpose its authority for 
their protection." Massachusetts sent to Washington a dele- 
gation to demand that the state be allowed to keep for her 
own defense a part of the national taxes collected within 
her borders. When the gentlemen reached the capital they 
were chagrined to learn that hostilities were ended and the 
Treaty of Ghent had been signed. 

The Treaty of Ghent. — By the autumn of 1814 Great 
Britain realized that to win the war was going to be very 
costly. Her people were worn out by their struggle with 
Napoleon and, now that Europe was at peace, did not view 
with favor another long-drawn-out war. Already British 
commerce had been driven from the seas and the merchants 
and ship owners were demanding peace. It was easy, there- 
fore, for the envoys of the two countries to agree on terms ; 
and on Christmas Eve, 1814, a treaty was signed at Ghent, 
Belgium, reestablishing friendly relations. Free trade and 
sailors' rights were not mentioned, but all territory which 
had been seized was restored. The United States had 
shown the world that it could and would defend its rights, 
and that no country might invade them with impunity. 

Economic consequences of the war. — The Embargo 
Act and Non-Intercourse Act had resulted in the develop- 
ment of much manufacturing. The capital which had once 
been invested in fisheries and trade was now employed in 



WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN 



269 



building and equipping factories and mills. The prospect 
for large returns was especially good since imports had been 
cut off. Between 1803 and 1814 fifty new manufacturing 
companies were started in Massachusetts alone. In 1803 
the United States had five small cotton mills; by 1815 over 
fifty million dollars had been invested in new ones, and 
most of them were in New England. The smelting of iron 
ore and the making of iron goods had also increased by 
leaps and bounds. 

As soon as peace was declared, English merchants began 
sending their surplus stocks to America to be sold at auction 
for whatever they would bring, and by 1815 goods worth 
two hundred and fifty million dollars had been received. 
In order to keep every dollar possible at home, several Eu- 
ropean governments passed laws against the importation of 
grain and other produce such as the United States had for 
sale. The effect 
of all this was 
that the New 
England manu- 
facturers could 
not find a market 
for their output, 
and so had to 
shut down their 
mills, and many 
became bankrupt. 
The New Jersey 
iron works put 
out their fires and 
went out of busi- 
ness. The farm- 
ers, too, were hard 

hit. The price of 

. , How tlie House of Representatives Voted 

wool became so on the Tariff Act of 1816 




□ No. □ Yes 

Not Voting 

Territories 
-No Vote. 



270 OUR COUXTRV'S HISTORY 

low that fine imported sheep were sent to the butcher. Lou- 
isiana sugar cane could not compete with that from Cuba 
and Jamaica ; cotton bagging from England undersold that 
made from Kentucky hemp; western grain became a drug 
in the market. 

^\'hat in 1789 had been demanded only by the northern 
manufacturing interests was now the common desire of 
small Democratic-Republican farmers as well as rich Fed- 
eralist mill owners. So in order to appease all classes a 
Democratic-Republican president and Congress enacted in 
1816 the country's first "tariff for protection" law. This 
imposed duties on foreign-made goods at a rate sufficient to 
raise the selling price to a level at which domestic manufac- 
turers could compete. 

Paper money and unstable prices during the war. — In 
1811 the charter of the United States Bank had expired, 
and as the Democratic-Republicans had always opposed 
a national bank Congress refused to renew it. As a 
consequence, during the war, the banks stopped "specie 
payment," that is, redeeming their notes in gold and sil- 
ver coin. "Hard money" at once disappeared from cir- 
culation and every one had to get along with currency of 
doubtful value, since in those days any one could issue 
paper money. The result was that prices became unstable 
and varied according to the kind of notes tendered in pay- 
ment. The demand for "hard money" and stable prices 
was now so insistent that the Democratic-Republicans were 
also compelled to grant a new charter to the United States 
bank (1817). 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. How were England and France affected by the Embargo and 

the Non-Intercourse Acts? How did these acts affect us? 
How did Napoleon deceive Madison ? 

2. Who were the "War Hawks"? "How did they differ from Jef- 

ferson and Madison? What portion of the country wanted 



WAR WITPI GREAT BRITAIN 271 

war? Why? What portion of the country opposed war? 
Why? 

3. Which nation gave the United States more cause for resent- 

ment, France or England ? Why did we not go to war with 
France? Why did Congress declare war against England? 

4. What were the arguments of the opponents of the war? What 

were some of the acts of the Democratic-Republican admin- 
istrations which made it difficult for the United States to wage 
a war successfully? 

5. Write in your note-book a brief sketch of the war on land. Why 

were the Americans unsuccessful in most of the engagements 
on land? Why were we more successful on the sea? Describe 
Perry's victory on Lake Erie. Why did the British destroy 
the White House and the Capitol building in Washington ? 

6. The Star-Spanglcd Banner is our national hymn. Commit the 

words to memory, and learn to sing it. 

7. The battle of New Orleans was fought after peace had been 

declared. Why? Such a thing is not possible to-daj-. Why? 
How do you explain the remarkable success of General Jack- 
son in the battle of New Orleans? 

8. Write in your note-book the provisions of the Treaty of Ghent? 

Note that one of the specific reasons assigned for going to 
war was not mentioned in the treaty. 

9. Learn clearly some of the results of the second war with Great 

Britain upon our industrial life. Compare the War of 1812 
with the War of the Revolution in the following respects : 
(a) causes, (b) duration, (c) generalship on land, (d) en- 
gagements on the sea, (e) results. 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. The Hartford Convention and the question of secession. 

2. Effects of the War of 1812 on industry. 

REFERENCES 

1. Hart's Formation of the Union, pp. 209-222. 

2. Hart's How Our Grandfathers Lived, pp. 243-249, 274-282. 

3. Thompson's History of the United States, P olitical-I ndustrial- 

Social, pp. 137-148 (for the teacher). 

4. Hale's Man without a Country (fiction). 



CHAPTER XXI 

GOOD FEELINGS AND HARD TIMES 

James Monroe, President, iSij-iSs^ 
John Quincy Adams, President, 182 5-18 2Q 

James Monroe becomes president. — Since the passage 
of the AHen and Sedition Laws the Federahst party had 
been steadily losing ground. Opposition to the war had cost 
it many friends ; and the encouragement given the Hart- 
ford Convention by Federalist leaders had completed its 
ruin. In the election of 1816 the Federalists nominated no 
candidates, so James Monroe, the Democratic-Republican 
nominee, was elected almost without opposition. The new 
president had been Madison's secretary of state and was the 
last veteran of the Revolutionary War to preside over the 
government. The sight of his old uniform, which he still 
wore, touched the hearts of even the staunchest Federalists, 
and his cordial disposition made friends for him everywhere. 

Era of good feeling. — During the summer of 1817 
Madison made a tour of the Northern States, appealing to 
the people to lay aside their jealousies and "pull together" 
for the national welfare. In an article headed the Era of 
Good Feeling a Boston newspaper said : "Party feelings 
and animosities have been laid aside and one great national 
feeling has animated every class of citizens." 

The three sections. — The three sections of the country 
differed widely from those of fifty years before. The North 
included the New England States, New York, New Jersey 
and Pennsylvania. The South comprised the whole area 
from the Potomac to the Gulf of Mexico with the addition 

272 



GOOD FEELINGS AND HARD TIMES 273 

of Delaware, Maryland and Louisiana. The West ex- 
tended from the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi 
River and beyond. With their varying climatic and indus- 
trial conditions, the three sections had radically dififerent 
ideas in regard to national legislation. Each was disposed 
to take a strictly local view of every question that arose. 
Slavery was the one which caused the greatest difference 
of opinion. In the North it had never been profitable, and 
by 1807 had been practically swept away. Although Wash- 
ington had provided in his will that his slaves should be set 
free after the death of his wife, and Jefferson had de- 
nounced slavery as "contrary to every principle of human 
justice" and had tried to have the Virginia Legislature 
enact a law for its gradual abolition, the whole industrial 
svstem of the South now rested upon it. 

Surplus population moves west. — The peopling of the 
West was taking place from three directions. Into the 
Northwest came many settlers from New York and Penn- 
sylvania, joined later by constantly increasing streams of 
dissatisfied persons from the small towns and back-country 
of New England — Democrats from "dyed-in-the-wool" Fed- 
eralist communities ; Baptists and Methodists from nar- 
row-minded Puritan localities ; the poor and debtor classes 
to be rid of aristocratic landlords and exacting money- 
lenders. To all, the promise of cheap lands and equal 
opportunities made a strong appeal. Kentucky, western 
V^irginia and the Carolinas, where good land was now 
becoming scarce, sent their surplus population by way 
of the Ohio and its tributaries. After the conquest of the 
Creeks, the planters of Georgia and other seaboard states 
began to move to the fertile lands in Mississippi Territory, 
bringing along their slaves. Here they were joined by 
sturdy pioneers from Kentucky and Tennessee, anxious to 
try their luck farther south. Although the southern parts 
of Indiana and Illinois had many settlers from the South, 



274 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

most of them had never owned slaves, and so found Httle 
fault with the Ordinance of 1787, forbidding- slavery in the 
Northwest Territory. 

Adjustment of the northern boundary. — The boundary 
l)etween Louisiana and Canada was still in dispute when 
Monroe became president. In 1818 a treaty was made with 




Fort George near the Mouth of the Columbia River 

Great Britain, agreeing that it should be a line extending 
from the northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods 
south to the forty-ninth parallel of latitude and thence west 
to the "Stony Mountains," as the Rockies were then called. 
West of the Rockies was the Oregon Country, claimed by 
Spain, Great Britain and the United States. During the war 
of 1812 the British had captured the only American settle- 
ment in the whole region. Fort Astor, which had been built 
the year before as a fur trading-post by John Jacob Astor, 
of New York. They had renamed it Fort George. In the 
new treaty the Oregon Country was left open to occupancy 
by citizens of both nations for ten years. Later, when 
Florida was purchased and the western boundary for 
Louisiana fixed, Spain was induced to yield all claims to 
Oregon and to accept the forty-second parallel of latitude as 
the northern boundarv of California. 



GOOD FEELINGS AND HARD TIMES 



275 



Florida purchased from Spain. — The eastern and west- 
ern boundaries of Louisiana also were in dispute. Some in- 
sisted that Spain had ceded to Napoleon both Texas and the 
Floridas along with Louisiana. If she had, then by his 
treaty Napoleon had transferred them to the United States. 
Relations with Spain had been so unpleasant that the matter 







Annexed in 1810 and joined to the Territory of Orleans as the 
"Florida Parishes." 

Forcibly annexed in 1812 
and joined to Missis- 
sippi Territory 



I - s^ Purchased from Sjiain in 1821 

The Acquisition of West Florida 



had never been settled. Meanwhile, however, President 
Madison had issued a proclamation placing all West Florida 
to the Perdido River under the jurisdiction of the United 
States (1810). Two years later that part west of the Pearl 
River was joined to Louisiana and the remainder became 
part of Mississippi Territory. 

Texas was a peaceable neighbor, but East Florida a con- 
stant source of annoyance. In its harbors nested pirates 
who thrived by pouncing upon United States merchantmen. 



276 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

In its forests dwelt the Seminole Indians and the Creeks 
who had survived the battle of Horseshoe Bend. In its 
swamps runaway slaves and outlaws of all kinds from the 
United States plotted with the Indians frequent raids into 
Georgia and the Mississippi Territory. During the war the 
Spanish had interposed no objections when the British 
agents were inciting the Florida Indians to attack the United 
States. In the far South indignation against Spain for the 
lawless conditions in Florida was so intense that in 1817 
General Jackson was sent to the border to put a stop to the 
outrages. It seemed to him a good time to settle the matter 
once for all by seizing the whole territory. Writing the 
-president that he would have possession within sixty days, 
Jackson hastened across the border. 

By May, 1818, St. Marks and Pensacola had been taken, 
and two Englishmen, found guilty by court-martial of hav- 
ing incited Indian outrages, had been put to death. True to 
his word, Jackson had brought Florida under the control of 
the United States, but in such a manner that both Spain 
and Great Britain were on the verge of making war upon the 
country. Since just at this time Spain was busy trying to 
check a revolt of her many colonies in Central and South 
America, she decided it was best to overlook Jackson's high- 
handed methods. In 1819 a treaty was negotiated by which 
the United States received both East and West Florida and 
agreed to pay claims owed by Spain to American citizens 
amounting to five million dollars. Texas remained a Span- 
ish possession, with the Sabine River and a line drawn north 
to the Red River as its eastern boundary. By the Florida 
purchase the national domain was increased by an area 
twelve times the size of Connecticut at a cost of eleven cents 
an acre. 

A period of hard times. — Early in 1819 it was evident 
that a ])eriod of "hard times" was at hand. The high prices 
which had prevailed since the war suddenly began to fall. 



GOOD FEELINGS AND HARD TIMES 277 

Flour, which had sold at fifteen dollars a barrel in 1817. now 
brought only five dollars. Farm produce became so low 
that it did not pay the cost of raising. As the farmers had 
no money with which to buy manufactured goods the de- 
mand for them largely ceased. Factories had to shut down 
and work became so scarce that men accepted any wages 
.they could obtain. Hundreds of persons unable to pay debts 
of even less than twenty-five dollars were imprisoned. In 
New York and Philadelphia kitchens were established where 
soup was distributed free to the hungry and penniless. 

Reasons for the hard times. — Few people understood 
the real cause of these hard times. The country had been 
expanding westward too rapidly in recent years. Specu- 
lators had bought large tracts of land from the govern- 
ment and then divided them into farms. These were sold 
to the newcomers on credit at a much higher rate than the 
cash prices charged by the government. Unfortunately, 
many farmers bought too much of this land and when the 
price of farm products took such a tremendous drop they 
could not pay even their interest. This speculation and 
buying of farms on credit had been made possible by the 
hundreds of small banks which the states had chartered to 
compete with the United States Bank. All of them issued 
paper money and many had lent large sums to specu- 
lators. Besides, much eastern money had been sent West 
by the national bank to help supply the demand of the state 
banks. With the approach of hard times, the banks not 
only refused to make further loans but began to demand the 
])ayment of those already made. The people in turn became 
frightened and insisted on hard money in exchange for their 
bank-notes. This soon forced the banks to discontinue specie 
payments and a general panic followed. 

The fact that the United States Bank had been poorly 
managed and that some of its officials had been guilty of 
fraud caused the South and West to attribute the hard times 



278 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



to it. They were sure that if the "Monster" had not called 
its loans to the state banks at a time when money was 
so scarce there would have been no panic. 

The revolt of Spanish America. — The success which 
had attended the efforts of the British colonists in North 
America to secure their independence prompted the down- 
trodden peoples of the Spanish colonies south of them to 
try the same thing. When Napoleon overran Spain and 
placed his brother on its throne, he proposed to extort heavy 
taxes from these provinces. One by one they revolted. 
Later, after Napoleon had been overthrown (1815) and the 
Spanish king had regained his throne, another period of 
oppression began. Driven to desperation, Mexico, New 
Grenada (now Colombia), Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Chile 
and other provinces declared their independence and set up 
republican governments. 

The monarchs of Europe had attributed the Napoleonic 
Wars to the attempt to establish a republic in France, and 

desired to 
squelch forever 
the ideas of the 
French revolu- 
tionists. After 
the overthrow 
of Napoleon, the 
sovereigns of 
Russia, Austria 
and Prussia, en- 
tered into an 
agreement 
known as the 




• Britiih Po»ts 
K Russian Posts 



*Ft. Ceomoc 
(Astoria ) 



Russian Posts in What Is Now Alaska 



"Holy Alliance." Its purpose was to prevent the subjects 
of any European monarch from attempting to overturn 
his government. In 1822 the Holy Alliance and the new 
P'rench king were considering intervention in Spain and 



GOOD FEELINGS AND HARD TIMES 279 

Italy where revolutions had recently broken out. Presi- 
dent Monroe realized the danger to the United States in 
this, for should Spain be assisted in organizing a strong 
government her power might soon be reestablished in Mex- 
ico, and Louisiana would have a dangerous neighbor. 

Furthermore, it was known that the czar of Russia was 
anxious to extend his Pacific coast settlements. It was 
not improbable that in exchange for help in reestablishing 
his authority at home, the Spanish king would cede the czar 
a portion of California. Any extension of Russian territory 
in America would imperil the interests of the United States 
in the Oregon Country. 

The Monroe Doctrine. — President Monroe became 
aware that Great Britain did not look with favor on Spain's 
recovery of her former colonies in America. Now that they 
had become independent a thriving trade with them had 
been built up by English merchants, and this would be shut 
off immediately were they to return to Spanish rule. The 
British Government had even tried to induce the United 
States to join it in declaring that no attempt to interfere 
with their independence would be permitted. In his mes- 
sage to Congress December 2, 1823, President Monroe, on 
the advice of his secretary of state, John Quincy Adams, 
pointed out what a menace it would be to the United States 
should the monarchs of Europe try to restore to Spain her 
American colonies. Speaking in reference to the Old 
World monarchies, Monroe said : "Any attempt on their 
part to extend their system to any portion of this hemi- 
sphere is dangerous to our peace and safety." Further on, 
the message stated that the United States would not inter- 
fere with any existing colonies but that it "could not view 
any interposition for the purpose of oppressing" those peo- 
ples which had lately declared their independence and set up 
their own governments "in any other light than a manifesta- 
tion of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States." 



280 OLR COUXTRV'S HISTORY 

As the czar, in 1821, had set up a claim to a large part of 
the Pacific coast south of Bering Strait, for his benefit Mon- 
roe said : "The American continents, by the free and inde- 
pendent conditions which they have assumed and main- 
tained, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for 
future colonization by any European power." 

This pronouncement of "America for Americans," to- 
gether with the pledge set forth by Washington in his Proc- 
lamation of Neutrality, that the United States would not 
meddle in European quarrels, has been the basis of our 
foreign policy ever since. Once only has the Monroe Doc- 
trine actually been disregarded — in 1862 when a French 
army invaded Mexico. Thus is shown the respect enter- 
tained abroad for the United States in its role of protector 
of the small republics to its south. 

New states and slavery. — So rapid had been the west- 
ward migration that in 1819 the country had twenty-two 
states — eleven in which slaveholding was lawful and eleven 
in which it was forbidden. At first, when all the states per- 
mitted it, slavery was an economic question determined 
solely by whether or not it paid. With the rise of manufac- 
turing, for which slaves were not fitted, the Northern 
States gradually passed laws forbidding it ; and now the 
Mason and Dixon Line was the boundary between slave- 
holding and free territory. When these laws were enacted 
in the North against slavery, many of the slaves owned there 
were sent South and sold to the planters, and then their 
former owners aligned themselves with those who had con- 
sistently preached the "wickedness of slavery." This 
"holier than thou" spirit was resented bitterly by the 
southerners and the two sections became more and more 
hostile to each other's opinions. 

Larger population in free states. — The free states had 
the larger number of members in the House of Represen- 
tatives for, as will l)c recalled, in enumerating the pop- 



GOOD FEELINGS AXD HARD TIMES 



281 



In hundreds, of thousands 



□ FREE ■ SLAVE S-S 

Increase in Population between 
1790 and 1820 



ulation for representation, only three-fifths of the slaves 
were counted. So long as the number of free and slave 
states remained the same, the two sections would have 
equal strength in the Senate, and measures opposed to 
southern interests passed 
by the House could be 
defeated there. Already 
the slavery question had 
become one for national 
legislation — in 1793 a 
law had been enacted re- 
quiring the return of 
runaway slaves, and in 
1801 one permitting slav- 
ery in the District of 
Columbia. In 1807 the importation of slaves, which had en- 
riched so many New England ship owners, was prohibited. 

Missouri opened for settlement. — At the time Missouri 
was opened for settlement many southerners, attracted by 
the fertile lands along the river, moved there and took their 
slaves with them. When the settlers sought admission as 
a state there were ten thousand slaves in the territory, and 
naturally Missouri expected no opposition to being admitted 
as a slave state. Southern congressmen favored this, but 
since it would give the South a majority in the Senate 
northern members protested vigorously against allowing 
this "immoral institution" in any state carved out of the 
Louisiana Territory. They argued with telling effect that 
the public domain was supposed to be open to settlement 
by all the people, and as white labor could not exist side 
by side with slave, to permit slavery in these new states 
would exclude a large part of the population from sharing 
in the benefits of the Louisiana Purchase. 

The Missouri Compromise. — While Congress wrangled 
over the question of its right, under the Constitution, to pro- 



282 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



hibit slavery in a state, legislatures and mass meetings of 
citizens adopted memorials expressing their views. Feeling 
ran so high that to some it seemed inevitable the nation 
must go to pieces, for unless one side or the other would 
yield, the creation of new states was impossible. At this 
time ]\Iaine, which had been a part of Massachusetts, asked 
admission. The southern senators refused to consent to 
this unless the representatives from the free states would 
allow Missouri to come in with slavery, so as to preserve 
the balance. After long delay both states were admitted 
under the "Missouri Compromise" proposed by Senator 
Thomas, of Illinois. By the provisions of this act Missouri 
was allowed to keep her slaves, but the remainder of the 
Louisiana Territory north of her southern boundary 

(36° 30' parallel of latitude) was 
declared "henceforth and for- 
ever free." 

When Missouri framed her 
constitution she inserted a clause 
excluding free negroes from the 
state. This aroused more oppo- 
sition and the question of her ad- 
mission was again disputed. Fi- 
nally, Henry Clay brought about 
a compromise by which Missouri 
entered the United States on Au- 
gust 10, 1821, as the twenty- 
fourth state. The word "for- 
ever" in the Missouri Compro- 
mise meant only about twenty-five years, however. During 
that time the question caused many bitter disputes. 

The rise of a new party. — The Democratic-Republi- 
cans had become divided into factions, diflfering one with 
another almost as much as the party originally differed with 
the Federalists. One faction, composed of southerners and 




Henry Clay 



GOOD FEELINGS AND HARD TIMES 



283 



westerners living south of the Ohio River, adhered to the 
old idea of strict construction. They advocated that the 
roads and canals, which the people were demanding, should 
be built at the expense of the several states and not by the 
Federal Government. They opposed a tariff for protection 
and a national bank. 

Another faction were loose constructionists who believed 
Congress should 
exercise powers 
implied, even 
though not stated 
in the Constitu- 
tion. In 1824 the 
party placed in 
the field four can- 
didates for the 
presidency. For 
the first time the 
West made its 
voice heard in 
politics. Two can- 
didates were from 
that region — An- 
drew Jackson, of 
Tennessee, the 
military idol of 
of the people and 
a strict constructionist, and Henry Clay, of Kentucky, the 
great pacificator of Congress and a liberal constructionist. 

No one of the candidates received a majority of the elec- 
toral votes. Jackson led with ninety-nine and John Quincy 
Adams came next with eighty-five. In deciding the matter, 
Clay's supporters in the House of Representatives threw 
their votes to Adams and he was elected. When it became 
known that Clay was to be secretary of state under Adams. 




I Jackson 

CZI Adams 

EiSj Crawford 
Pay 

Territories - 
No Vote 



Distribution of Electoral Votes in the 
Election of 1824 



284 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



IIIZXA 

Cieii.Jacliiioiit 
B€0WJr 

^M'vn THE 

YAMKEESi! 



A Poster Used in the Election of 1828 



Jackson and his followers were furious and accused the two 
of having made a "deal." 

By the time the election of 1828 came around the feeling 

between the two 
factions was so 
bitter that the 
strict construc- 
tionists dropped 
the name "Re- 
publican" and 
called them- 
selves the Dem- 
ocratic party. 
General Jack- 
son was their 
leader. The 
Democratic - R e- 
publicans, who 
believed that "state rights" should give way to whatever 
was necessary for a strong national government, changed 
the name of their party to the National Republican. They 
soon, however, became popularly known as "Whigs." 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. Describe the three sections of the United States when James 

Monroe became president in 1817. In which section do you 
think you would prefer to have lived? Why? What was the 
"West" at this time? What people were settling there and 
why? Compare a western politician with an eastern one in 
the decade following the War of 1812. 

2. What was the cause of the "hard times" or panic which oc- 

curred in Monroe's first administration? 

3. Trace on a map the boundary line between Canada and Lou- 

isiana and explain how it was fixed. State clearly how we 
acquired Florida. 

4. When did the Spanish colonies in North and South America 

revolt from Spain? Did they succeed in gaining independ- 



.(.fO^, 



GOOD FEELIXCS AXJ) \l.\\<\) TIMKS 



285 



ence ? What was the "Holy Alliance" ? What was its pur- 
pose? What was the "Monroe Doctrine"? Why was the doc- 
trine issued? What did the Monroe Doctrine mean in 1823? 
What does it mean to-day? 

To what section of the country had slaver}^ large!}' drifted? 
Why? What was the feeling of the people in the other sec- 
tions of the country toward slavery? Why? 

In 1819 there were eleven free states and eleven slave states, but 
there were more representatives in the House from the free 
states than from the slave states. Why? The representation 
in the Senate was the same. Why? Missouri asked to come 
into the Union as a slave state just as other slave states had 
done. Why, then, was there such a struggle over her admis- 
sion ? What was the "Missouri Compromise" ? 

Learn the origin of the Whig party. What was the difference 
between a "strict" constructionist and a "loose" construction- 
ist? To which party did each of the following statesmen be- 
long : Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams ? 



SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

The Holy Alliance and democratic freedom. 

The Missouri Compromise and the beginning of sectionalism. 

The unexpected growth of negro slaver}-. 

How John Quincy Adams happened to become president. 

Adams' election compared to Jefferson's election. 



REFERENCES 



1. Hart's Formation of the Union, pp. 233-262. 

2. Elson's Side Lights on American History, Chapters VIII and IX. 




A Common Scene in Flatboating 
Days 



CHAPTER XXII 

SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 
UP TO 1820 

Pioneer life. — Closely upon the heels of the surveyors 
followed the pioneers. Usually persons with little money 
and no social position, they braved the hardships of the 
western wilderness for a homestead where they might be 
independent of landlords and on a level with their neighbors. 
Lured on by the prospect of "getting to be somebody" 
these hardy pioneers stowed themselves atop of their house- 
hold goods, inside the bulging canvas of a big "Conestoga" 



A Conestoga Wagon 

wagon, and lumbered across the mountains. When they 
reached their destination "Out West" they had to hew out 
a clearing and build for themselves a log cabin, much as 
their forefathers had done long before. Here they reared 
large families of boys and girls who grew into strong 
healthy men and women. Coarse fare, homespun clothing 
and hard work were small obstacles to these proud, inde- 
pendent, self-reliant westerners. Always conscious of their 
rights, they were quick to resent any imagined infringe- 

286 



SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 287 

ment of them. Fortunately, "book learning" was of little 
consequence, for schools were far apart and terms short. 
Teachers prided themselves on being able to "keep ahead" 
of the class and, even so, taught little besides the rudiments 
of knowledge. 

Building the pioneer home. — Pioneer couples married 
young — usually under twenty — and went to housekeeping 
on a neighboring "clearing." There, after the wedding, 
gathered friends with axes and saws for the "log rolling," 
and soon a space was cleared for the new home. A few 
days more and the cabin was raised and roofed. After the 
"old folks" had given them the usual "setting out" of house- 
hold furnishings, and a horse, a cow, a couple of pigs and 
some hens, they were ready to "go it alone." Little by little 
the new land was cleared by girdling the trees, and the crops 
planted among the stumps were worked by the entire family. 

Isolation of pioneer life. — The life of the pioneers was 
often a lonely one, for sometimes the nearest neighbors 
were miles away. In case of illness home remedies and the 
nostrums kept at the general store were applied. If these 
did not effect a cure a country doctor might be summoned 
by a day's ride on horseback. These pioneer physicians were 
as crude in their methods as the wilderness itself, but no 
class of men in the story of our country's development was 
more self-sacrificing. As the country settled up, the "circuit 
rider," or itinerant preacher, put in his appearance, and held 
an occasional service at the schoolhouse. Often illiterate 
and uncouth but with deeply religious natures, these frontier 
clergymen devoted their lives to ministering to the spiritual 
needs of those who were planting the torch of civilization in 
the wilderness. Funerals were necessarily rude — often the 
services of a clergyman could not be had and the home- 
made coffin was lowered into the grave without even a 
prayer. 

Far from court-houses and magistrates, the westerners 



288 OUR COUXTRVS HISTORY 

came to regard government as mmecessary. They looked 
upon taxation as a system devised for extorting money from 
struggling citizens to pay the useless "job holders" kept in 
office by the rich to look after their interests. 

The invasion of the fertile lands lying south of the Ohio 
by the planters of the seaboard states, with their slaves, 
gave to pioneer life there a very different character. The 
small farmers were pushed into the hilly sections and looked 
upon as socially inferior by their slaveholding neighbors. 
The more energetic ones sold out and once more moved 
"Out West," thus helping to keep up the tide of emigra- 
tion. 

The demand for internal improvements. — As soon as 
the states had secured their independence the people be- 
gan to demand roads connecting the back-country with the 
older communities. Washington believed that without high- 
ways it would be impossible to keep the western settlements 
from joining Canada on the north or Spain on the south; 
Jefferson thought them necessary in order to control the 
trade. Both, however, predicted that the jealousies of the 
individual states would prevent them from uniting to build 
roads at public expense, and they were right. The first 
highways were turnpikes built with private capital and sup- 
ported by heavy tolls. By 1808, New York had nearly a 
thousand miles, Connecticut about eight hundred and ]\Ias- 
sachusetts and Pennsylvania w-ere not far behind. But the 
cost of hauling goods over these roads was so great as to 
retard the development of the West. It took three weeks 
to ship a barrel of flour from Albany to Buffalo and cost ten 
dollars. 

In the twenty years from 1790 to 1810 the population west 
of the mountains had increased from one hundred ten 
thousand to one million two hundred twenty thousand. 
As these people moved farther inland, their need of bet- 
ter means of transportation to and from the seaboard be- 



SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 



289 



came more urgent. 
Although much of 
their produce went 
to market by way of 
the Ohio, its tribu- 
taries and the Mis- 
sissippi, their man- 
ufactured goods had 
to be brought from 
New York, Philadel- 
phia and Baltimore. 
The Cumberland 
Road. — The Demo- 
cratic-Re pviblican s 
did not believe Con- 
gress was empower- 
ed by the Constitu- 
tion to appropriate 
money for any inter- 
nal improvements. 
But the demand be- 
came so insistent that 
President Jefiferson. 
in 1806, yielded a lit- 
tle and approved an 
act to set aside part 
of the money re- 
ceived from land 
sales in Ohio for the 
construction of a 
road connecting that 
section with tide- 
water. Starting at 
Cumberland City on 
the Potomac the new 




290 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



Cumberland Road, or National Highway, as it was called 
later, wound its way over four mountain ridges to Wheeling 
on the Ohio River, one hundred and fifty miles distant. It 
was completed in 1819 at a cost of one million seven hun- 
dred thousand dollars. The need for it was shown the next 
year, when three thousand wagons were required to carry to 
Pittsburgh, the western trade center, the eighteen million 
dollars' worth of goods purchased in the East. By 1838 
the highway had been extended to Vandalia, Illinois, not far 
from St. Louis, As the railroad had now arrived, there 
was no occasion for any farther extension. 

The invention of the steamboat. — In 1760 James Watt, 
an Englishman, invented the steam engine. Soon men's 
minds were at work trying to devise a way to hitch an 

engine to paddles so 
as to propel a ves- 
sel through water. 
The first person to 
do it in a commer- 
cially successful 
manner was Robert 
Fulton. In August, 
1807, he advertised 
that on the morning 
of September sec- 
ond he and a party 
of friends would 
start from New 
York for Albany on his steamboat, the Clermont. When 
the eventful morning arrived crowds assembled to see 
"Fulton's Folly" make a fool of its inventor. Great was the 
surprise and greater still the admiration when the clumsy 
craft steamed away up-stream at the rate of five miles an 
hour. The Clermont made the trip to Albany (145 miles) 
in thirty-two hours, and the return trip in thirty. 




The First Steamboat Built to Carry 

Passengers 

It was finished in 1798 and the following year 

was run for a short time between Philadelphia 

and Burlington, New Jersey 



SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 



291 



Steamboats on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. — Four 
years later the first steamboat on the Ohio, the Nezv 
Orleans, had just been built at Pittsburgh when the war with 
England stopped the construction of any additional boats. 
In 1817, the Mississippi River saw its first steamboat, and 
it was said that the negroes along the banks were so fright- 
ened at the monster moving through the water, belching 




A Mississippi River Steamboat 

forth fire and smoke, that they fell on their knees in prayer, 
thinking that the judgment day had come. It took this ves- 
sel twenty-four days to make the trip from Louisville to 
New Orleans, and return. Within three years there were 
seventy-two steamers plying up and down the Mississippi 
and the Ohio and their tributaries. For many years after 
that, however, a large amount of freight was flatboated to 
and from the river ports. 

Canal building. — When eastern merchants realized that 
much of the produce of the West was going from New Or- 
leans to Europe direct, instead of by way of the seaboard 



292 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

ports as formerly, they began to urge the building of 
canals connecting tide-water with the western waterways. 
As early as 1807, Albert Gallatin, Secretary of War, pre- 
sented a plan to Congress calling for an appropriation of 
twenty million dollars for roads and canals, but the Demo- 
cratic-Republicans would not consider it. After the war 
with England, Madison favored internal improvements for 
a time, and Calhoun introduced a bill for canals and roads, 
which he urged as a safeguard against "the greatest of all 
calamities — next to the loss of liberty — disunion." How- 
ever, on the very day before his term expired, Madison went 
back to his strict construction views and vetoed this bill. 

The Erie Canal. — The completion of the Cumberland 
Road threatened to deprive New York merchants of the 
bulk of their western trade, for they would be unable to 
compete with Baltimore and Philadelphia. Awake to this 
danger, in 1817 Governor Dewitt Clinton induced the legis- 
lature to begin the construction of the long-talked-of Erie 
Canal. Many doubted the practicability of -such an enter- 
prise, for "Clinton's Big Ditch," as the canal was called 
in derision, had to be made strong enough to carry a stream 
of water forty feet wide and four feet deep, three hundred 
and sixty-three miles through swamps, across rivers and up- 
hill nearly six hundred feet. The work was completed in 
the autumn of 1825, and when the waters of Lake Erie 
were let into the canal, cannon reports from signal sta- 
tions five miles apart announced the event in New York 
City. Governor Clinton made a triumphal voyage from 
Buffalo to New York and poured several kegs of lake water 
into the harbor, to commemorate "thfe navigable commu- 
nication which has been accomplished between our ]\Iedi- 
terranean Seas (Great Lakes) and the Atlantic Ocean." 

Effect of the Erie Canal on the growth of New York 
City. — The effect of the new waterway was immediate. 
Now a barrel of flour could be brought from Albany to Buf- 



SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 293 

falo in a week's time at a cost of only thirty cents. The bulk 
of the freight from East to West went by the canal and the 
boats returned with the produce of the Northwest. Farmers 
in the West could buy manufactured articles almost as 
cheaply as they were sold in the East. In the manufacturing 
centers the cost of living fell, thanks to the influx of food 
products from the West. The Erie Canal made New York 
the leading commercial city of the United States, and since 



Scene near the Western End of the Erie Canal about 1830 

then it has never lost that distinction. In ten years the tolls 
more than repaid the state the seven million dollars it had 
cost to build. 

Canals in other states. — In order to regain their west- 
ern trade the merchants of Philadelphia induced the Penn- 
sylvania Legislature to undertake a canal system which 
should connect the Delaware River with the Ohio at Pitts- 
burgh, and also with Lake Erie. Many miles of canals were 
built, but the mountains prevented the project from being 
fully realized. West of the AUeghanies there was a chain 
of canals connecting Cleveland, on Lake Erie, with Colum- 
bus and Cincinnati; Canals were not essential in the South 



294 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



because of its many navigable rivers, but two short ones 
were constructed — the Dismal Swamp Canal in Virginia and 
the Santee Canal in South Carolina. 

The invention of the cotton-gin. — Early in the history 
of the colonies, the soil of the rich lowlands, all the way 
from Virginia south, was found well adapted to cotton rais- 
ing. Up to the Revo- 
lution, the crops 
were insignificant, 
merely the small 
amount that could 
be spun and woven 
into cloth in the 
homes. America had 
no cotton mills and 
they were just being 
introduced into Eng- 
land. Sea Island, or 
long staple cotton, 
would not grow at 
any considerable distance from the coast. The short staple 
variety was more hardy and adapted to wider cultivation, 
but the separation of the fiber from the seed was so tedious 
that it made the crop unprofitable. However, during the 
Revolutionary War, the importation of cotton goods was cut 
off and more cotton had to be raised to supply the needs of 
the states. 

About 1793, Eli Whitney, a Connecticut school-teacher, 
was staying in Georgia in the home of the widow of General 
( Ireene. Observing how slowly the slaves separated the 
fiber from the seed, Whitney undertook to devise a machine 
to do the work. The crude contrivance he invented, to 
which was given the name "cotton-gin," separated more 
short staple cotton in a day than fifty slaves could do. 

Effect of cotton-gin on the growth of negro slavery. — 




Eli Whitney's Cotton-Gin, from the Model 
in the Patent Office 



SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 



295 



Up to this time cotton raising had been confined to Georgia 
and South Carohna, and in 1790 the total crop did not ex- 
ceed four thousand bales. Such an impetus was given the in- 
dustry by Whitney's invention that cotton growing spread 
rapidly as far north as Virginia and west to central Ten- 
nessee. In ten years the crop had increased nearly twenty- 
fold, and over half of it went to Europe, where it sold for 
about twenty cents a pound. The influence of the cotton-gin 
on slavery was tremendous. The planters had found negro 
labor unprofitable except for field crops which were ex- 
hausting to the soil. Even in colonial times there was so 
much dissatisfaction with the system in Virginia that the 
House of Burgesses had petitioned the king to stop the 
importation of slaves. Not only was its prayer denied, but 
the Burgesses were reminded that colonies existed for the 
good of the mother country, not "for their own happiness." 
By 1803, all the states except South Carolina had passed 
non-importation acts, and there was good prospect of the 
slaves eventually being emancipated. By the invention of 
the cotton-gin the cultivation of short staple cotton was 
made profitable in the vast uplands extending from the 
tide-water section almost to the foothills of the Appalach- 



In five thousan ds 

I I I I I I I ' — ' 




1790 
1800 
1810 
1820 



In hundreds of thousands 
1 I I r- 



I II -1 — I 



Northern States Southern States 

How the Number of Slaves Changed Between 1790 and 1820 



ians. The new industry created such a demand for labor 
that from 1803 to 1807 over thirty-nine thousand African 
negroes were brought into Charleston. By 1820 the price 
of a "full hand" — a strong healthy slave between twenty and 



296 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



thirty years of age — had increased from three hundred to 
fifteen hundred dollars. With such prosperity, no longer 
did any Southern State hope that slavery would die out. 

Development of textile manufacturing. — About the 
time of the Revolution, old methods of manufacturing in 
England were giving way to the modern factory system. 
The invention of Hargreaves' spinning jenny and Cromp- 
ton's mule did away with spinning-wheels in the homes. 
Cartwright's power loom (1784) revolutionized weaving, 
and a year later Watts' steam engine was adapted so as to 
furnish power for cotton mills. By the aid of these inven- 
tions English manufacturers enjoyed a distinct advantage 
over those of other countries, and efforts were made by law 
and otherwise to keep the details a trade secret. 

Cotton manufacturing. — The impetus given textile 
manufacturing by the war caused Americans also to seek im- 
proved methods. 
Mechanics were 
induced to come 
over from Eng- 
land and assist 
in devising new 
machinery. In 
1789, Samuel 
Slater, one of 
these skilled 
workmen from 
an English fac- 
tory, joined 
Moses Brown at 
Paw tucket, 
Rhode Island, and together they established the first cotton 
mill in America. In the beginning the machinery was driven 
by ])ower secured by damming up streams and installing 
water wheels. y\fter 1810 steam power was used in winter 




The Old Slater Mill at Pawtucket, Rhode 

Island 
This was the first cotton mill in the United States 



SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 297 

when the streams were frozen. The first power loom in 
America was set up at Wahham, Massachusetts, in 1814. 
The industry progressed rapidly, and by the close of the 
War of 1812 mills employing a hundred thousand operatives 
consumed fifty thousand bales of cotton a year. 

Woolen manufacturing, — A\^ooIen manufacturing did 
not develop so rapidly as cotton, for nearly every farm had 
its sheep and the women of the household continued to card, 
spin and weave for the family needs. Gradually little card- 
ing mills were established along the streams powerful 
enough to drive a water wheel, and in time spinning jennies 
were set up in them. In these the carding and spinning for 
all the surrounding country would be done, and the labor 
of the household was reduced to weaving the cloth. Fac- 
tories followed soon after, and increased so fast that by 
1816 the fifty thousand operatives in American woolen 
mills were converting seven million dollars' worth of raw 
wool into finished cloth each year. 

The growth of textile manufacturing developed a bond 
of sympathy between New England mill owners, the south- 
ern cotton growers and the western sheep raisers, and all 
demanded a tariff for protection against foreign compe- 
tition. 

Condition of society. — The government had been in- 
augurated with two distinct classes of society — the "ricb 
and well-born" and the ''masses." The most democratic men 
of the age believed that the masses could not be trusted to 
have a direct part in the government. In selecting men for 
office Washington insisted on the quality of "conspicuous- 
ness." 

More political equality in the West. — Out in the West 
the common danger and equal struggle for a livelihood 
quenched any such spirit of exclusiveness. When Kentucky 
and Tennessee drew up their state constitutions, all men 
were granted suffrage. In Ohio, Indiana and Illinois men 



298 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



who paid any tax whatever could vote. Knowledge 
of the greater liberality of the West, in matters of suf- 
frage and eligibility to office, aroused the common peo- 
ple of the older states to protest against the exist- 
ing political inequalities. In vain did the ruling class argue : 

"There is no real 
demand for man- 
hood suffrage, 
only a few noisy 
agitators are stir- 
ring up the mat- 
ter while most of 
the people are sat- 
isfied with things 
as they are. We 
are prosperous 
now ; why make 
changes? . 
The poor have no 
interests or con- 
cern in the gov- 
ernment because 
they have no 
property at stake." 
The masses were 
insistent and also 
intelligent to a surprising degree. New Hampshire, Georgia 
and Maryland yielded gracefully, while other states resisted 
what any dullard could see was the inevitable outcome. 

The Constitution provided that the several state legisla- 
tures should determine how the presidential electors should 
be chosen, and they preferred to select them themselves. 
Now in response to popular demand they began to pass laws 
allowing the voters to choose these electors. 




When Manhood Suffrage Was Granted 

The absence of a date shows that provision for 
it was included in the original state constitution 



SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 299 

Women denied equal rights. — The women had not be- 
come disheartened when New Jersey took away their right 
of suffrage, but were becoming bolder in their demands for 
"equal rights." They protested against taxation without 
representation, exclusion from the colleges, denial of the 
right to practise law or medicine and prejudice in business. 

Punishment more humane. — Toward the unfortunate 
a more humane spirit was being displayed. The abolition 
of imprisonment for debt was agitated. Stocks, pillories 
and whipping posts had about disappeared. In place of ex- 
posing prisoners to public gaze, several states had begun 
to erect modern prisons in which they were confined and 
taught useful trades. In Pennsylvania, asylums for the 
blind, deaf, dumb and insane, and hospitals for the sick 
were being supported by public and private charity. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

L Describe the life of the western pioneer. Why did he move 
from the East to the West? What was his attitude of mind 
toward education, rehgion and government? 

2. What was meant by "internal improvements"? Up to this time 

which political party had favored, and which had opposed, in- 
ternal improvements? Learn the attitude of mind of each of 
the three sections of the country toward internal improve- 
ments. Does the Constitution permit Congress to appropriate 
money for internal improvements? Why did the War of 
1812 cause a demand for internal improvements? 

3. Write in your note-book an account of "Fulton's Folly." How 

did the steamboat influence the growth of Pittsburgh? New 
Orleans? New York? Can you find a reason to account for 
the fact that the steamboat and river transportation were de- 
veloped before the locomotive and railroad transportation? 

4. Write in your note-book a description of "Clinton's Big Ditch." 

What effect did the Erie Canal have on the growth of New 
York City? Point out two advantages that a canal has over a 
railroad. Name two advantages that a railroad has over a 
canal. 

5. What was the Cumberland Road ? Trace it on the map. Why 

was it built? What was the cost? What argument did John 



300 OUR COL'XTRVS HISTORY 

C. Calhoun use in favor of the national government building 
roads and canals? 

6. Who invented the cotton-gin? When? Learn clearly the effect 

of this invention on the growth of slavery. 

7. Name four inventions which promoted the modern factory sys- 

tem of manufacturing in England. What caused the people 
in the United States to seek improved methods in manufac- 
turing at this time? "The growth of textile manufacturing 
developed a bond of sympathy between New England mill 
owners, southern cotton growers, and western sheep raisers, 
and all demanded a tariff for protection against foreign com- 
petition." Explain the meaning of this statement. 

8. Contrast the East and the West as to conditions of society and 

the qualifications for holding public office. What is meant by 
manhood suffrage? What made the West more democratic 
than the East? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. Effects of the steamboat on American life and industry. 

2. Invention of the cotton-gin and the growth of slavery. 

3. Opening of the Erie Canal and the growth of the Northwest. 

4. Commercial value of the Erie Canal to New York City. 

5. The American industrial revolution. 

REFERENCES 

1. Elson's Side Lights on American History, pp. 80-95. 

2. Spark's The Expansion of the American People (excellent ref- 

erence for roads, canals, steamboat and railroad). 

3. Hart's How Our Grandfathers Lived, pp. 102-104. 

4. Mowry's American Inventions and Inventors, Chapter VH. 

5. Spark's The Men Who Made the Nation, Chapter VIII. 

6. Roosevelt's Winning of the West (splendid material for the 

teacher on pioneer life). 

7. Thompson's History of the United States, Political-Industrial- 

Social, pp. 148-159,243-260 (valuable material for the teacher). 

The Federal Union Grows and Develops but Is Hampered 
by European Interference 

T. The New Government Put in Operation by the Federalists. 
A. The organization of the government. 

1. The duties of president and Congress. 



SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 301 

2. The first Cabinet and secretaries. 

3. Hamilton's plan for establishing the credit of the 
nation. 

B. Amendments to the Constitution. 

1. The amendments that guaranteed natural or funda- 
mental rights. 

2. The ninth and tenth amendments reserved to tlie 
states all powers not delegated to Congress. 

C. The new government tested by the Whisky Insurrection 
and law upheld. 

D. Vermont and Kentucky admitted to the Union. 

E. The French Revolution and trouble with France and 
England. 

1. France seeks aid from the United States and the 
Genet affair. 

2. Washington's proclamation of neutrality. 

3. England refused to surrender the posts in the West. 

4. The commerce of the United States crushed between 
the British orders in council and French decrees. 

5. Jay's Treaty. 

6. Trouble with France and the X Y Z Papers. 

7. The Anti-Federalists bitter against Adams, and the 
Alien and Sedition Laws. 

II. Thomas Jefferson a Democratic-Republican President, 
1801-1809. 

A. Jefferson's simplicity and the country made more demo- 
cratic. 

B. The great importance of New Orleans to the West. 

C. The purchase of Louisiana. 

1. Conditions that made Napoleon desire to sell it. 

2. The organization of the territory. 

3. The explorations of Lewis and Clark. 

4. The significance of the Louisiana Purchase. 

D. Jefferson's efforts to maintain peace with Great Britain. 

1. The Embargo and Non-Intercourse Acts. 

III'. War with Great Britain for Commercial Independence, 

A. The reasons for declaring war given by President Madi- 
son. 

1. Disrespect to the American flag. 

2. Virtual lilockading of American ports. 



302 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

3. Interference with American commerce by orders in 
council. 

4. Inciting Indians against American citizens. 
B. Plan of campaign. 

1. Three armies to invade Canada. 

2. Unpreparedness and failure. 

3. Naval engagements of the war. 

4. The coast ravaged by the British, and Washington 
burned. 

5. The battle of New Orleans. 

6. The Treaty of Ghent. 

IV. Good Feelings and Hard Times. 

A. Madison's tour of the Northern States. 

B. Boundary disputes. 

1. The boundary between Canada and Louisiana estab- 
lished at the forty-second parallel of latitude. 

2. The eastern boundary of Louisiana settled by pur- 
chase of Florida. 

C. The Monroe Doctrine formulated. 

1. Conditions in Europe that led to it. 

2. The meaning of the Monroe Doctrine. 

D. Missouri seeks admission to the Union, and the Missouri 
Compromise. 

V. Social and Industrial Progress up to 1820. 

A. Life among pioneers. 

B. Internal improvements. 

1. The building of roads. 

2. The construction of canals. 

C. Inventions. 

1. The steamboat. 

2. The cotton-gin and its influence on the South. 

3. The inventions of Hargreaves, Crompton and Cart- 
wright that brought about the Industrial Revolution 
in England. 

D. Social conditions. 

1. Suffrage limited. 

2. Punishment inflicted for debt. 

3. The treatment of paupers, criminals, the blind, dea ' 
and dumb, etc. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

Andrezv Jackson, President, 1829-18^7 
Martin Van Biiren, President, 18^7-1841 



The election of Old Hickory. — General Jackson had a 
large following of high-spirited men like himself who re- 
sented bitterly the action of the House of Representatives 
in 1824. As he had received the largest number of electoral 
votes they felt Jackson had been "robbed" of the presidency, 
and at once organized to "right the wrong" in the next elec- 
tion. In each state a "Jackson Committee" kept up the en- 
thusiasm through "Jackson meetings" and the newspapers. 
Their candidate was 
kept in the public eye 
by invitations to popu- 
lar gatherings— dedica- 
tions of buildings, flag 
pole raisings and bar- 
becues. In 1828 Louis- 
iana celebrated the an- 
niversary of the battle 
of New Orleans with 
Jackson as a guest of 
honor. The general 
came down the Missis- 
sippi by boat, and at 

-y , Photo from Undenvuud ix Uiiucrwood 

Natchez was accorded t-, t:- ^ • c^ ^ e r- 1 

The Equestrian btatue of General 

an official welcome to Jackson in New Orleans 

303 




304 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

the state of Mississippi. From there to New Orleans his 
trip was a triumphal march. For four days the Crescent 
City was wild with enthusiasm. With booming cannon, gay 
parades and much feasting and dancing, its citizens pro- 
claimed their loyalty to the grim warrior who had saved 
the city from the British fifteen years before. 

Such methods of campaigning were scorned by President 
Adams, the Whig candidate, and he remained quietly at 
Washington. Many of Jackson's supporters held govern- 
ment positions, but Adams refused to dismiss them, de- 
clining, as he said, to make the government "one perpetual 
and unintermitting scramble for office." As a result Jackson 
was elected by a vote of more than two to one. 

The man of the people. — When Andrew Jackson was 
inaugurated president on March 4, 1829, the common peo- 
ple felt that, for the first time, they had placed one of their 
own number in the White House. Born of Scotch-Irish 
parentage in the uplands of the Carolinas, he studied law 
and when licensed to practise moved to Tennessee. Jackson 
was a natural leader. As a soldier he insisted on sharing 
with his men all their hardships and privations ; and be- 
cause of his ability to endure fatigue they dubbed him "Old 
Hickory." In his political views he was obstinate and so 
intolerant of differences of view that he regarded his oppo- 
nents as enemies to the country. With him, loyalty to 
friends and hatred to enemies were prime virtues. Jackson 
was as gallant toward ladies as he was high-tempered in his 
relations with men. He scorned the affectations of polite 
society, and thus won for himself the devotion of the com- 
mon people. Many of his supporters made the first long 
journey of their lives to see the general inaugurated, and 
their rude manners excited much criticism in Washington. 
Daniel Webster was so disgusted by their behavior at the 
White House that he wrote : "They upset the bowls of 
punch, broke the glasses and stood with their muddy boots 



JACKSOXIAX DEMOCRACY 305 

in the satin-covered chairs to see the people's president." 
The spoils system. — Jackson adopted the principle of 
rotation in office. He believed in frequent changes so that 
as many as possible might share in the "easy government 
jobs." This was a new policy. All presidents heretofore 
had refused to dismiss capable officials simply to make 
places for personal friends, and there had been only sev- 
enty-four removals in forty years. Many of Jackson's 
friends remained in Washington after the inauguration to 
seek offices, claiming with Senator Marcy, of New York, 
that "To the victors belong the spoils of the enemy." In 
one year over seven hundred officials were removed by Jack- 
son to make places for others whose principal qualification 
was that they had worked for his election. In those days 
the heads of departments appointed all the minor employees 
and they had always dismissed them at will. With the in- 
coming of new secretaries numerous changes were made, 
but never before had there been such wholesale ones. The 
"political axe" fell without warning on one-third of the 
leading officials and one-half of the clerks, custom-house 
employees and petty postmasters. 

The rotation system became so strongly intrenched 
that until 1883 no law could be enacted protecting honest of- 
ficials from danger of removal with each new administra- 
tion. Statesmen like Webster, Clay and Calhoun opposed 
the president's policy, but their protests availed nothing, 
for Jackson knew his course was approved by the masses. 
Moreover, the president believed that those he dismissed 
were either incapable or dishonest, and that a permanent 
office-holding class was a menace to the nation. 

The fight on the National Bank. — In the West there 
was distrust of any large combination of capital, and corpo- 
rations were looked upon as oppressors of the people. 
There the United States Bank had to bear the blame for the 
panic of 1819. As the bank's charter expired in 1836 the 



306 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



question of renewing it came up early in Jackson's admin- 
istration. In 1832 Congress enacted a bill extending it 
twenty years, but the president vetoed the measure. The 
presidential campaign, which began soon after, was waged 

over this bank ques- 
tion. The National 
Republican candidate, 
Henry Clay, favored 
the renewal of the 
charter. Jackson was 
nominated by the 
Democrats for reelec- 
tion and insisted the 
National Bank was 
unconstitutional. In 
addition he accused its 
managers of enrich- 
ing themselves at the 
expense of the people 
who had to borrow 
money from it. Fur- 
thermore, he charged 
that the bank was using its vast resources to control 
elections. 

When the people reelected Jackson he took it as an en- 
dorsement of his bank policy. The law required that all 
federal funds should be kept in the National Bank and all 
warrants for government expenditures should be paid by 
it. In 1833 the president ordered all future government 
deposits to be distributed among many small banks which 
were owned and operated by Democrats, and before long 
all government funds in the United States Bank had been 
withdrawn. 

The railroad. — With the perfection of the steamboat 
came the idea of a locomotive for drawing wagons. In 




□Jackson □Clay 
^ Other Candidates 
■ Territories- No Votes' 

Distribution of Electoral Votes in 
the Election of 1832 



JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 



307 



1814 George Stephenson, an English inventor, built one 
which he called "Puffing Billy," and demonstrated the pos- 
sibility of the steam train for hauling freight and passen- 
gers. John Stevens, of Hoboken, New Jersey, is the father 
of the American railroad. In 1815 he obtained the first 
charter for a railroad ever granted in this country. It was 
Stevens, too, who proposed "to get over mountains by dig- 
ging passages like a well" horizontally through them. The 
first American railroad, built in 1826, was a five-mile strip 
connecting the granite quarries near Quincy, Massachusetts, 
with tide-water. The cars were drawn by horses on wooden 
rails covered with 
strips of iron. Two 
years later a railroad 
was constructed 
from Honesdale, 
Pennsylvania, to 
some coal mines six- 
teen miles away, and 
the first locomotive 
in America was op- 
e r a t e d over this 
road. 

In 1828 Charles 
Carroll, the last sur- 
vivor of the signers 
of the Declaration 
of Independence, now ninety-three years of age, threw up 
the first shovelful of dirt in the construction of the Balti- 
more and Ohio Railway, by which the Maryland city hoped 
to compete with the Erie Canal. Carroll said at the time : 
"I regard this among the most important acts of my life, 
second only to that of signing the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence." Within two years the first section of sixty miles 
was completed. 




A Car Tried on the Charleston and Ham- 
burg Railroad in 1829 
It was operated by a horse as in a treadmill 



308 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




,:l)^i/ 5..i; --ifii C>. 



From Philadelphia to Pittsbursh, 

THROUeU Itt 91 BAVS: 

from PIXTi^BiRGII (o LOl I^VILUE. 




Meanwhile the whole country was awakening to the ad- 
vantages afforded by railroads. Massachusetts projected 
one connecting Boston with the Erie Canal at Albany. In 
1833 South Carolina completed what was then the longest 

railroad in the world, 
extending from 
Charleston to Ham- 
burg — one hundred 
and thirty-six miles. 
New York built one 
from Albany to Sche- 
nectady to shorten the 
distance by the Erie 
Canal, and Michigan 
one connecting De- 
troit with Ann Arbor. 
All roads were ex- 
perimenting with en- 
gines. Peter Cooper's 
new locomotive, the 
"Tom Thumb," ran 
thirteen miles in sev- 
enty-two minutes, and 
the West Point Com- 
pany's "Best Friend" 
attained a speed of twenty miles an hour on the South Caro- 
lina Railroad, and this was considered remarkably fast time. 
The first cars were clumsy stage-coaches, which soon gave 
place to box-like vehicles with seats running lengthwise. 

By 1837 there were fifteen hundred miles of railroad lines 
in operation, and their economic value was recognized. Al- 
though the shortness of the different lines made frequent 
changes of cars necessary, a journey could be made in less 
than half the time required by the fastest stage. The East 
and West were brought nearer together and emigration 



Starts every inoriuiie> from the corner of Broad a^ Race SC 



PaSMBgcn «lr Cincinnati, Lauhvillc, Nalcbei. NashvUIr, Si. Loab, t-t. 



OPnCE. N. E. CORNER dF FOJJRTH AND CBESNDT ST. 



jt. B. cvnjmjrea. . 



Facsimile of Advertisement 
Published in 1837 



JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 



309 



increased. By facilitating the movement of freight the cost 
of doing business was lessened. Land increased in value 
and prosperity closely followed the railroad. 

Tariff legislation. — In 1828 the New England manu- 
facturers and western farmers who still believed in the 
home market theory, prevailed upon Congress to pass a law 
raising the duties on manufactured articles from abroad. 
Prices immediately rose and because of this there was 
much indignation. The South had its capital invested in 
land and slaves and there was no prospect of manufacturing. 
Compelled, as it was, to ship in practically all of its manu- 
factured goods, with low duties it could buy cheaper in Eu- 
rope than in the North. The southern statesmen denounced 
the law and declared that "we buy dear and sell cheap." 

Vice-President 
Calhoun led the 
fight against this 
"Tarifif of Abomi- 
nations." He sent 
to the legislature 
of his own state 
— South Carolina 
— a carefully 
written exposi- 
tion of his views. 
In it he declared 
that this tariff was 
sectional legisla- 
tion and therefore 
unconstitutional. 
He insisted that 
the constitution 
was a mere com- 
pact between the 
states, and that 




Territories-No vote 



How the House of Representatives Voted 

on the Tariff Act of 1832 

Compare this with that on page 269 



31'0 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



any one of them had the right to nulhfy any act of Congress 
which, in the judgment of its legislature, was unconsti- 
tutional. 

To quiet the dissatisfaction Congress, in 1832, adopted a 
new law lowering the duties considerably, but the South was 
not appeased. It feared that if the compromise was ac- 
cepted the idea of a tariff for protection would become 
established, and eventually a serious menace to southern in- 
terests. So as a matter of principle South Carolina, in a 
convention chosen by her voters, resolved that protective 
tariffs "are null, void and no law, nor binding upon the 
state, its officers or citizens." They also forbade the col- 
lection of duties within the state and declared that, if the 
United States attempted to enforce the law, South Carolina 
would consider herself out of the Union and proceed to or- 
ganize an independent government. That she meant this 
was shown by the immediate strengthening of her militia. 
The Webster-Hayne debate. — While the country was 
excited over the tariff' question, a 
debate took place in Congress in 
which the question of state rights 
was learnedly expounded. It arose 
in the discussion of a bill dealing 
with the public lands. Senator 
Robert Hayne, of South Carolina, 
upheld Calhoun's contention that 
^^■^^;^^^^ k the Constitution was a mere com- 

^^m •'■'^^fc^^ P^^^ between sovereign states, 

^^n "i^^^^l fi'om which they could withdraw 

^^B ^B^^^L ^^ ^^^^' ^^"^^^ Webster answered 

^^^B JhHHH Hayne and insisted that it was a 

solemn agreement of the people of 
the United States, and that the 
Federal Government was not answerable to any individual 
state. In his speech he asked "if each state has the right to 




Daniel Webster 



JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 311 

final judgment on any question in which she is interested, 
is not the whole Union a rope of sand?" 

Jackson and nullification. — Jackson w^as in sympathy 
with the South on the tariff question, but not in regard to 
nullification. The message sent to his friends in South 
Carolina was a plain warning: "Please give my compli- 
ments to my friends in your state, and say to them that if 
a single drop of blood shall be shed in opposition to the 
laws of the United States I will hang the first man I can 
lay my hands on engaging in such treasonable conduct." 
When the news of the doings of the South Carolina con- 
vention reached the president he exclaimed : "The Union ! 
It must and shall be preserved ! Send for General Scott." 

General Winfield Scott with two war vessels was des- 
patched to Charleston, and the president issued a procla- 
mation saying that the law would be enforced and urging 
the people of South Carolina to obey it. When this availed 
nothing, Jackson asked Congress to enact a "Force Bill" 
giving the president authority to use the army and navy 
to collect the taxes. South Carolina had sympathizers in 
the West now, for the high tariff had been a disappoint- 
ment in that region, too. Through the mediation of Henry 
Clay a law was passed in 1833 providing for the gradual 
reduction of duties for ten years. By that time they 
would be back where they were under the law of 1816, and 
the revenue would just about support the government. The 
South Carolinians had won their contention, so they re- 
scinded their nullification resolutions, and war was averted. 

The panic of 1837. — The monetary panic of 1837 was 
preceded by ten years of speculation and reckless expendi- 
ture on the part of the American people. The law fixed 
the price of government land at a dollar and a quarter an 
acre. Speculators saw a chance, as they thought, to get 
rich, by buying these lands and holding them for a rise in 
value, so they borrowed large sums of money from th? 



312 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



banks for the purpose. Between 1830 and 1836 the gov- 
ernment receipts from land sales had increased from 
$2,300,000 to $25,000,000 and the entire national debt had 
been paid off. Two years later there was such a large sur- 
plus that Congress decided to donate to the states $28,- 
000,000. 

Who could deny that the country was prosperous ! Money 
was plentiful and prices were high. States, corporations 

and individuals all caught the 



BORN TO COMMAND 




KtNC ANDREW THE FIRST. 



speculative fever. Vast pub- 
lic improvements — canals, 
railroads and highways — 
were begun ; numerous cities 
were laid out and lots were 
sold at constantly increasing 
prices ; great stocks of goods 
were manufactured or im- 
ported, — all on borrowed 
money. Not only did Jack- 
son's "pet banks" have enor- 
mous deposits of public 
funds, but "wildcat" banks 
had sprung up all over the 
country whose principal ob- 
ject was to issue paper 
money. Competition between 
the banks was so keen that 
borrowers could get money on their own terms and vaults 
were bulging with doubtful securities. To help finance 
their public improvements the several states actually bor- 
rowed two hundred million dollars from foreign bankers. 
Jackson's "Specie Circular." — At last Jackson became 
alarmed at the amount of currency of questionable value 
which the government was accepting in payment for 
its lands. As a precaution, he issued his "Specie Cir- 



An Anti-Jackson Cartoon Used 
in the Election of 1832 



JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 313 

cular," requiring all future payments to be made in gold 
and silver coin. This led to a general demand upon the 
banks for specie, and about the same time the Federal Gov- 
ernment began to withdraw the funds which were to be 
donated to the states. It, too, insisted on specie. In or- 
der to meet the situation, the banks began to call in their 
loans ; and to raise funds with which to meet these obli- 
gations business men had to ofifer for sale all kinds of prop- 
erty — houses, stores, factories, bonds, etc. Purchasers 
were few and prices sank lower day by day. When the 
banks refused to redeem their own notes in coin everybody 
lost confidence and soon the country was in the throes of 
the worst panic it had ever known. Before it was over a 
large part of the business concerns went into bankruptcy 
and several of the states not only refused to pay the interest 
on their bonds but actually repudiated them. 

Removal of the Indians. — When Georgia ceded her 
western territory to the Federal Government it was with 
the understanding that the lands within her borders be- 
longing to the Indians would be purchased and the red 
men removed from the state. After a long delay which 
had been very exasperating to the Georgians, in 1825 Presi- 
dent Adams sent a commission to Indian Springs, Georgia, 
to negotiate a treaty with the Creeks. This treaty pro- 
vided that they would relinquish their lands and move west 
of the Mississippi River. As soon as it was signed the 
state of Georgia began to survey the lands with a view to 
their settlement. Creeks living in Alabama protested to 
the president that the Georgia tribes had no right to cede 
these lands and demanded that he stop the survey of them. 
When Adams ordered the Georgia authorities to withdraw 
their surveyors and they refused to do it, an armed conflict 
seemed imminent. Before matters got serious, however, 
the Indians were persuaded to leave Georgia and move to 
a region set apart for them west of Arkansas Territory. 



314 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

When Jackson became president he inherited a difficulty 
with another tribe of Georgia Indians — 'the Cherokees. 
These red men had set up an independent government 
within the state, and when Georgia tried to interfere they 
appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. The 
Court held that they were a separate nation and free to act 
without reference to Georgia's wishes. The president sup- 
ported the state in its desire to be rid of the Cherokees 
and finally negotiated a treaty with them by which they 
agreed for five million dollars to exchange their lands 
for new homes in the Indian Territory (1835). 

The Indians of Michigan had already removed to Iowa 
and Minnesota and the Choctaws and Chickasaws from 
Mississippi to Indian Territory. President Monroe's plan 
of locating the Indians in new homes in the Far West and 
opening to settlement all their lands east of the Mississippi 
had at last been realized. 

Anti-slavery agitation. — The admission of Maine and 
Missouri relieved Congress of the slavery question for fif- 
teen years, since there were no more territories asking for 
statehood. The sentiment in the South against slavery 
had been silenced, as we have seen, by the profits from 
cotton raising. In the North and Northwest, however, this 
institution was coming rapidly to be regarded as out of 
place in a country where manhood suffrage prevailed. Anti- 
slavery societies were formed by men and women deter- 
mined to rid the nation of slavery. Some advocated gov- 
ernment purchase of the slaves and their emancipation, while 
the extremists among the abolitionists insisted that the 
slaveholders had been more than repaid by the toil of the ne- 
groes, and that they should set them free without any recom- 
pense. 

Garrison's radical views. — William Lloyd Garrison 
represented the most extreme abolitionists. In 1831 he be- 
gan, in Boston, the publication of a journal to agitate eman- 



JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 



315 



cipation. In its editorials the Liberator denounced slavery 
most violently, claiming it was a "sin against government 
and a crime against man." When urged to be more mod- 
erate Garrison declared that he did not "wish to think, 
speak or write with moderation," on this question. Con- 




i^*^i-J L?w3 l-^O 
Facsimile of the Heading to the Liberator 

fronted with the argument that, under the Constitution Con- 
gress could not interfere with the rights of the slaveholders, 
he said that such an arrangement was "a covenant with 
death and an agreement with hell." 

Sober-minded persons in the North as well as in the South 
read with horror the wild appeals of the Liberator to vio- 
lence and secession. At first Garrison was regarded as a 
mere fanatic, but later as an anarchist. The slaveholders 
hated him for advocating their financial ruin and because 
the literature he was circulating among the negroes tended 
to stir up insurrection. In fact, in the first year of the 
publication of the Liberator, Nat Turner, a Virginia slave, 
had incited an uprising which cost sixty lives. 

Rapid growth of anti-slavery societies. — In Boston a 
mob composed of persons friendly to the South and its in- 
terests gathered in front of Garrison's office, wrecked his 
printing press with stones and other missiles and dragged 
him through the streets with a rope around his body. Such 
persecutions, however, only gained the abolitionists more 



316 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 





















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friends. By 1837, the anti-slavery societies had a hundred 
and fifty thousand members and had perfected a national 
organization. Congress was being petitioned to abolish 

slavery in the District 

180O 1810 1820 1830 1840 1850 J 

of Columbia and to pro- 
hibit the slave trade be- 
tween the states. With 
a view to putting a stop 
to all such propaganda, 
in 1836, the House of 
Representatives passed 
a resolution declining 
to receive any more 
anti- slavery petitions. 
The result was that 
while before they had 
borne a few hundred 
signatures, from then 
the signers were num- 
bered by tens of thou- 
sands and for eight 
years petitions continued to come only to be consigned to the 
waste basket. 

Although not more than one southern white man in six 
owned slaves, and there had been much criticism of the in- 
stitution among the slaveholders themselves, the whole 
South drew together against the northern anti-slavery move- 
ment. No longer could they afford to admit that slavery 
even had objectionable features, and from then it was held 
that "Slavery is a good, a perfect good." 

The independent treasury. — In the midst of the panic 
Jackson's term of office expired. His supporters believed 
that he could be reelected, but he declined to break the 
precedent established by Washington in regard to a third 
term. Four years before, the plan of holding national con- 



SLAVES 

FRtE NEGROES 



How the Negro Population of the 
District of Cohimbia Changed be- 
tween 1800 and 1850 



JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 



317 



'l*RiWtm.,'-. 



i." !■—■?■ 



TN-*"" pviitk fl«B. 




ventions for the nomination of candidates had been adopted. 
The president induced the Democratic Convention to nom- 
inate Vice-President Martin Van Buren of New York for 
the presidency, and 
in the election which 
followed he won 
easily. 

During the first 
year of his adminis- 
tration Van Buren 
had to call a special 
session of Congress 
to consider means of 
meeting the govern- 
ment's expenses. 
When the banks 
were forced to dis- 
continue "specie 
payments" the na- 
tion's funds had 
been tied up. Taxes 
and other receipts 
were not sufficient 
to meet its needs. 
Congress authorized 
an issue of treasury 



■ '. FOB PRESIDENT, • 

MnrHm fl»t* tiurem 

-FOR VICE ?RBSifiENT, 

RicBARP M, mumoN; 

bu/otiKCtom 
iOMN M. «00BEN6W, 
OTH>'IEL LOOKER. 
UCOB FELTEK, 
UMES 8. CAMKROKi 
; MVIP S. DAVlSi **, 



Facsimile of the Electoral Ticket Used 
in Ohio by the Democrats in 1836 



notes to the amount of ten million dollars for temporary 
relief, and ordered all further distribution of the former 
surplus among the states stopped. An independent treasury 
bill was passed, providing for a treasury independent of the 
banks which should have charge of all federal receipts and 
expenditures. 

Many persons who were heavily in debt because of specu- 
lations urged Congress to enact "stay" laws. As Van Buren 
opposed all such measures he became extremely unpopular. 



318 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. Andrew Jackson was a new kind of president, the first to be 

elected from the West. What states had furnished all the 
presidents before Jackson's time? Compare their political 
training and experience with that of Jackson. Compare 
Jackson Democrats with Jeflferson Democrats. 

2. Jackson's followers believed they had been cheated in the elec- 

tion of 1824, and accordingly proceeded during the next four 
years to make certain the election of Jackson in 1828. What 
were some of the campaign methods introduced in 1828? De- 
scribe the reception given to Jackson in New Orleans. Your 
r-tgxt says that Andrew Jackson was a man of the people. 
,;jc'- Explain. 
3. ' What was meant by the "Spoils System" in politics? Was Jack- 
son right or wrong in removing so many persons from office? 
Should public offices be distributed as a reward for working 
for the party? Should public officials be appointed or elected 
on the basis of merit? What officials may properly be changed 
with a change of administration? Why? Name some of the 
great statesmen who opposed Jackson's policy of rotation in 
office. Why did they not succeed against Jackson? 

4. What were the reasons why Jackson wished to destroy the Na- 

tional Bank? Did he succeed? Have we a National Bank 
to-day? 

5. What was the "Tariff of Abominations"? Why were the manu- 

facturers of the East and the farmers of the West in favor 
of this tariff? Why were the planters of the South opposed to 
it? What was Jackson's position on the tariff question? 

6. What was meant by the doctrine of "nullification"? What was 

Jackson's attitude toward nullification? 

7. What was the subject of the debate between Daniel Webster 

and Robert Hayne? What position did each of the debaters 
take on the question of state rights versus national rights? 

8. Usually the historian refers to the term of a president as an 

"administration." One writer refers to the "reign of Andrew 
Jackson." Write in your note-book all the reasons you can 
find which tend to show that Jackson really acted as a strong 
king would be expected to act. 

9. What does the word "panic" mean ? What were the causes of 

the panic of 1837? What did President Van Buren do for the 
financial distress of the country when he became president in 
1837? 



JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 



319 



10. What changes were made in the names of the political parties 
during the "reign of Jackson"? Which of the two leading 
parties to-day resembles more closely the party of Andrew 
Jackson? To which party did each of the three great states- 
men of Jackson's time, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay and John 
C. Calhoun, belong? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. The Webster-Hayne debate. 

2. Jackson's Indian policy. 

3. The abolition movement. 

4. Effects of the railroad on American life and industry. 

REFERENCES 

1. Wilson's Division and Reunion, pp. 17-21, 30-34, 88-94. 

2. Thompson's History of the United States, P olitical-Industrial- 

Social, pp. 253-273. (Excellent reference for the teacher.) 

3. Spark's The Men Who Made the Nation, Chapters IX and X. 

4. Southworth's Builders of Our Country, Book II, pp. 149-157. 

5. Wright's Stories of American Progress (The Railroad), pp. 

179-194. 




The First Train Operated b&tween Albany and Schenectady in 1830 



CHAPTER XXIV 

THE WHIGS AND TEXAS ANNEXATION 

William Henry Harrison, President, 1841-1841 
John Tyler, President, 1841-1845 

Harrison is elected president. — The campaign of 1840 
was the most exciting the country had ever witnessed. The 
recent extension of suffrage had created a large class of 
voters who made up in party enthusiasm for what they 
lacked in seriousness. The Democrats renominated Presi- 
dent Van Buren regardless of his unpopularity, and girded 
themselves for the severe fight needed to overcome the ef- 
fect of the panic 
and hard times. 
The Whig candi- 
date was "General 
William Henry 
Harrison, the for- 
mer governor of 
Indiana Territory, 
who was now liv- 
ing quietly on his 
farm in Ohio. 
From the start, the 
campaign was one 
of personal abuse 
without any real 

An 1840 Political Badge "plat form" or state- 

On the building is the music of a ^ r i i 

campaign s.,ug meut of party pol- 

320 




THE WHIGS AND TEXAS ANNEXATION 321 

icy. The Whigs assailed Van Buren as a mere pretender to 
the principles of Jeffersonian democracy. He was accused of 
living in a palace and eating from "real gold and silver 
dishes" while the common people starved. They extolled 
General Harrison's record as an Indian fighter and boasted 
that he was a real frontiersman. In reply to this the Demo- 
crats said the Whig candidate was "nothing but an old 
farmer who ought to sit in his log cabin and drink hard 
cider." 

Each side had its fiery speakers. Many of the meetings 
were held in the open air, and, where possible, on historic 
battle-fields. Immense crowds from all the surrounding 
country attended — more than a hundred thousand persons 
in the case of the Bunker Hill meeting. In the cities long 
processions marched by day and torchlight parades enlivened 
the night. Small log cabins mounted on wheels, with a coon 
skin nailed to the front and a cider keg on the porch, were 
dragged along by the Whigs to the tune of such rollicking 
campaign songs as Little Van Is a Used Up Man and Old 
Tippecanoe and Tyler Too. The result was that General 
Harrison was elected by a large majority, with John Tyler, 
of Virginia, as vice-president. 

The death of Harrison. — The exertions of the cam- 
paign were too great a strain for a man of sixty-eight years, 
and added to them were the hardships of the long journey 
from Ohio to \A'ashington in midwinter. So feeble was the 
new president that he was barely able to go through the 
inauguration ceremonies, and in connection with them con- 
tracted a severe cold. Unable to obtain the necessary rest 
because of the demands made on him by the usual crowd of 
office seekers, he rapidly grew worse, and in just one month 
from the day of his inauguration passed away. 

John Tyler becomes president. — Vice-President Tyler 
at once succeeded to the presidency. Tyler had been placed 
on the ticket to win support in the South, for he was at 



322 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



heart a Democrat, though aligned with the Whigs in the 
recent elections. He soon broke with his party by refusing 
to follow the lead of Henry Clay. When Tyler vetoed the 
bill creating a new national bank all his Cabinet except 
Daniel Webster resigned their offices. Henceforth, the 
president was a man without a party, and consequently un- 
able to influence Congress. Aside from negotiating a treaty 
with Great Britain settling the dispute over the Maine boun- 
dary, to accomplish which Webster remained in the Cabinet, 

and enacting a new 
tariff law, his ad- 
ministration counted 
for little until just at 
its close. 

Texas secedes 
from Mexico. — In 
1810 the Spanish 
province of Mexico 
revolted. The strug- 
gle which followed 
was extremely cruel 
and lasted for eleven 
years. At last, in 
1821, Mexico's inde- 
pendence was recog- 
nized and a so-called 
republican govern- 
ment was set up. 
The Spanish prov- 
ince of Texas be- 
came part of this 
new nation. Only 
two years before, the 

c. u XT \ r ^u TT ..u United States had 

Stephen F. Austin, the Father 

of Texas made the treaty with 




THE WHIGS AND TEXAS ANNEXATION 3Z5 

Spain by which the Sabine River had been accepted as the 
western boundary of Louisiana. This treaty was a cause of 
much disappointment to the southern slave owners, for al- 
ready they were casting longing eyes toward the fertile 
lands southwest of Louisiana. 

The Spanish authorities welcomed immigration from the 
United States and to encourage it agreed to bestow large 
grants of land upon those who would plant colonies. In 
1820 Moses Austin, of Connecticut, who was interested in 
some western lead mines, contracted to settle three hundred 
families on the banks of the Brazos. Mexico confirmed 
this grant and the following year his son, Stephen F. Austin, 
laid the foundation of the present capital of Texas. 

Most of the immigrants were southerners, and many 
brought their slaves with them. By 1830 there were more 
Americans than Mexicans in Texas — probably twenty thou- 
sand in all — and the Mexican authorities were becoming ir- 
ritated at the independent manner they assumed toward 
the government. To check further immigration, Mexico 
forbade colonization, canceled the land grants, imposed du- 
ties on farming implements, and finally abolished slavery. 
Texas was administered by Mexican officials as a part of 
the State of Coahuila and wholly in its interests. Men 
like Sam Houston and Davy Crockett, Tennesseans who had 
fought with Jackson at Horseshoe Bend, and James Bowie, 
a fearless Georgia frontiersman, were not the type to sub- 
mit tamely to any such rule. W'hen Mexico failed to give 
Texas self-government, as she had promised to do, the 
Americans rose in revolt (1833). Three years later a con- 
vention was held, attended by three Mexicans and fifty-one 
Americans, all but five of whom were from slave states, and 
a declaration of independence was adopted (March 2, 
1836). 

Severe fighting betvi^een Texans and Mexicans. — Gen- 
eral Santa Anna, the president of Mexico, at once 



324 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



crossed the Rio Grande to put down the rebelHon. He laid 
siege to the old mission at San Antonio, called the Alamo, 
and threatened the whole garrison with execution if it did 
not surrender. The brave little band of Texans answered 
with a cannon shot and the battle began. True to his threat, 




Santa Anna Sam Houston 

The Surrender of Santa Anna 



Santa Anna kept up the fight until the last man of the gar- 
rison was killed. A few days later, three hundred more 
Texans were butchered at Goliad. A battle which was to 
determine the future of Texas was next fought at San Ja- 
cinto, near the present site of Houston, April 21, 1836. Gen- 
eral Sam Houston, in command of a small Texas army, was 
opposed by Santa Anna with his much stronger force of 
Mexicans flushed with victory. Urged on by shouts of 
"Remember the Alamo !" "Remember Goliad !" the Texans 
rushed upon the ATexicans and not only defeated them but 
captured Santa Anna himself. 



THE WHIGS AND TEXAS ANNEXATION 



325 



In September (1836) the people of Texas adopted a Con- 
stitution and soon after the '-'Lone Star State," as the Re- 
public was popularly called, set up a regular government 
with General Houston as its president. 

Annexation of Texas, — The Texans began at once to 
seek to become a part of the United States. Mexico had 
repudiated the treaty made by Santa Anna and was threat- 







From an old cartoon 

"Bringing in Texas" 

Notice Clay, Webster and other Whigs trying to hold back the car (Texas) 

ening new hostihties. The southerners were ardent in their 
support of annexation, but Congress hesitated. To annex 
Texas would add to the domain of slavery an area large 
enough to make eighty states the size of Connecticut, or, as 
Webster said, "A state so large a bird can not fly across it 
in a week." When Jackson found that he was unable to 
induce Congress to annex it, he proceeded to recognize the 
"Lone Star RepubHc" as an independent nation (1837) 
and soon other countries did the same. 

For eight years the question of annexing Texas was up- 
permost in the minds of the American people. The friends 



326 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



of the proposition spoke of it as the "re-annexation," in- 
sisting that Texas had once belonged to the United States as 
a part of the Louisiana Purchase. Many feared that, if 
annexation was refused, Texas would be forced to appeal to 
Great Britain for protection. Others predicted that an- 
nexation would mean war with Mexico. Massachusetts was 
so opposed to the proposition that through her legislature 
she threatened to secede if Texas was annexed. 

In the spring of 1844 President Tyler submitted to the 
Senate a treaty of annexation which he had secretly made 
with Texas. It permitted Texas to come in as a single un- 
divided state, but with the right reserved to subdivide later 
into as many as five separate states. The United States as- 
sumed payment of the republic's debts amounting to seven 
million dollars, and allowed Texas to retain her public lands. 
This treaty failed of ratification. In the campaign of 1844 

the Texas question 
was the real issue. 
The Democrats came 
out boldly for "re- 
annexation" and 
won. When the re- 
sult of the election 
became known, the 
friends of annexa- 
tion, who were in a 
majority in both 
Houses, decided to 
put through Con- 
gress a joint resolu- 
tion admitting Tex- 
as as a state on the 
same conditions as 
had been included in 




a Polk □ Clay 
■ Territories-No^ 



Distribution of Electoral Votes in 
the Election of 1844 



THE WHIGS AND TEXAS ANNEXATION 327 

the treaty. Three days before his term closed. President 
Tyler signed this resolution, and thus realized the ambition 
of his administration, to make Texas one of the United 
States. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. What is meant by manhood suffrage? Is there a property quali- 

fication for suffrage in your state to-day? A tax qualifica- 
tion? What restrictions, if any, are there? 

2. Do you think President Tyler did right in "breaking with his 

party"? Give reason for 3^our answer. 

3. Why did Texas secede from Mexico? Until 1810 Mexico was a 

Spanish province, and when Mexico revolted from Spanish 
rule the Spanish province of Texas became a part of Mexico. 
Do you believe Texas vras justified in seceding from the 
Mexican Republic? What is meant by self-determination? 

4. Your text states that the Spanish authorities welcomed immi- 

gration from the United States into Texas. Why? Later the 
Mexicans discouraged immigration from the United States. 
Why? 

5. What arguments were advanced in favor of the annexation of 

Texas ? Why did the South particularly want Texas, and why 
was there so much opposition in the North to its" annexation ? 

6. In your note-book make a sketch of the map of Texas. Com- 

pare Texas with your state as to area and population. In 
what year was Texas admitted as a state? Was her admis- 
sion the cause of the war between the United States and 
Mexico ? Explain. 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY . 

1. The revolt of the Spanish colonies in the New World. 

2. The influence of the West on tlie extension of suffrage. 

REFERENCES 

1. Elson's Side LiyJits on American History. Vol. I, Chapter XII. 

2. Wilson's Division and Rciininn, \i\). 141-152. 



328 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




CHAPTER XXV 
WESTWARD EXPANSION 

James K. Polk, President, i84yi84g 

The Oregon Trail. — When the term of joint occupancy 
of the Oregon Country expired, it was renewed for an in- 
definite period. There was an understanding that either 
nation could terminate the agreement by giving a year's 
notice. Meanwhile, Russia had accepted the Monroe Doc- 
trine and confined her colonizing to the region north of the 
parallel of 54° 40'. After the war with England, Astor made 




The First Mission House in Oregon 

It was built in 1834 in the Willamette Valley about sixty 

miles south of Portland 

no efifort to renew fur-trading on the Columbia ; for some 
time the only whites in the Northwest were found in the 
forts and trading-posts of the Hudson Bay Company. 

About 1832 missionaries began to arrive for the purpose 
of converting the Indians, and soon after an overland route, 
known as the "Oregon Trail," was laid out. This road 
traversed the Platte Valley to its head, thence wound in a 
northwesterly direction around the north shore of Great 
Salt Lake to the Snake River, and followed that stream to 

329 



330 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



the Columbia. Over this new trail, closely behind the mis- 
sionaries, came colonies of settlers. By 1845 there were 
at least seven thousand white people in Oregon, and two 
years before a territorial government had been organized by 
those living in the Willamette Valley. 

Lieutenant Fremont's explorations. — President Polk 




Hardships of Travel along the Western Trails 

believed that the "manifest destiny" of the United States 
was to control the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 
He proposed to annex Oregon and acquire California. In 
1842, when the rush to Oregon began. Lieutenant John C. 
Fremont was sent to what is now Wyoming to ascertain 
whether the pass selected for the Oregon Trail was the 
easiest one through the Rockies. W^ith his former guide 
from New Mexico, Kit Carson, Fremont made wide and 
valuable explorations. He proved Zebulon Pike was mis- 
taken in his observation that the ])lains east of the Rockies 
were a "desert placed by Providence to keep the American 
people from their diffusion and ruin," and that there was 
no "Great American Desert." 



WESTWARD EXPANSION 



331 



The next year, as the first step toward the acquisition of 
Cahfornia, Lieutenant Fremont was ordered to explore the 
country along the Santa Fe Trail. This dangerous road had 
been laid out fifteen years before to connect the Mexican 
settlements around Santa Fe with the Missouri River ports. 
Now, over it moved yearly great wagon trains transporting 




Bent's Fort on the Arkansas River 

It was located on the Santa Fe Trail about seventy-five miles south of Pueblo, 

Colorado. The fort was built of adobe brick and had walls 

fifteen feet high and four feet thick 

supplies for the Southwest, which had been brought from 
St. Louis to Independence by steamboat. A continuation 
of this trail led from Santa Fe to Los Angeles, and thence 
north to San Francisco, at this time a sleepy Mexican town 
of two thousand inhabitants. Leaving the Santa Fe Trail, 
Fremont took a northwesterly course and made extensive 
explorations of the Mexican territory in the Great Salt Lake 
Basin, and finally (1845) the ''Pathfinder," as he w'as now 
called, led another expedition to the Southwest, and this 
time spent the winter in the mountains of California. 

Fifty-four forty or fight.— ^Canada, too, appreciated the 



332 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

value of the rich lands of the Northwest, and the need of 
strengthening British claims to the region by actual settle- 
ment. So many Canadians had begun to come into Oregon 
that the Americans became alarmed lest the whole country 
might be lost to Great Britain. In the winter of 1842-1843 
Doctor Marcus Whitman, one of the pioneer missionaries, 
made a trip full of hardships "back East" to urge the im- 
mediate annexation of Oregon. By the next year the de- 
mand for annexation had become so strong that the Demo- 
cratic Convention included the proposition in the platform 
on which James K. Polk, of Tennessee, was elected presi- 
dent. 

In 1846 Congress notified Great Britain that the United 
States desired to terminate the joint occupancy of Oregon. 
Some of the politicians were insisting that the boundary be- 
tween the United States and Canada must be the parallel 
of 54° 40'. This cry of "Fifty-four Forty or Fight" created 
apprehension in England that the United States was insti- 
gating a war for the purpose of seizing Canada. Great 
Britain renewed her proposition that the tw^o nations com- 
promise on the forty-ninth parallel as far as the Strait of 
vSan Juan de Fuca, and thence by that body of water to the 
Pacific Ocean, and it was accepted. 

The Texas boundary dispute. — Alexico had never rec- 
ognized the independence of Texas, so the boundary between 
the two countries had not been established. The Texans 
insisted that it was the Rio Grande River, while Alexico 
claimed that none of the territory south of the Nueces had 
ever been included within Texas. As soon as he signed the 
joint resolution admitting Texas, President Tyler ordered 
General Zachary Taylor, with two regiments, to proceed to 
Corpus Christi, on the south bank of the Nueces. This ac- 
tion and the arrival of an American squadron ofif the mouth 
of the Rio Grande made the Mexican Government very 
angry. 



WESTWARD EXPANSION 333 

Soon after taking office, President Polk sent a new min- 
ister to Mexico, John Slidell, of Louisiana, with instructions 
to try to appease the Mexicans and, if possible, to purchase 
California. When Slidell reached Mexico City he found 
that the government was unwilling to receive him, so he was 
unable to carry out any part of his instructions. General 
Taylor was then ordered to advance to the Rio Grande, but 
before he arrived the Mexicans had crossed over and at- 
tacked a small detachment sent forward to reconnoiter. 
When news of this skirmish reached him, the president in- 
formed Congress that "War exists, notwithstanding all our 
efforts to avoid it — exists by the act of Mexico herself. 
Mexico has invaded our territory and shed American blood 
upon American soil." Congress then declared the two na- 
tions at war (May 13, 1846) ; and troops were hurried to 
General Taylor, who was ordered to "invade Mexico and 
conquer a peace." 

The War with Mexico. — Now that the fight was on 
with Mexico, the president determined to subdue the coun- 
try so thoroughly that he could compel the Mexicans to give 
up all their territory north of the Rio Grande and west to 
the Pacific. Although the United States had fewer soldiers 
than Mexico, her troops had the advantage of better equip- 
ment and more thorough training. Moreover, a large part of 
the volunteers were southerners who fought with a feeling 
that the interests of their own beloved "Southland" w^ere at 
stake, for the greater the territory wrested from Mexico 
the greater the opportunity there would be for slavery to 
expand. It was not surprising, therefore, that the Amer- 
icans won every battle and speedily compelled Mexico to sue 
for peace. 

General Taylor, on receipt of orders, began the invasion 
of northern Mexico. Crossing the Rio Grande he captured 
Matamoras, opposite the present Brownsville, and advanced 
on Monterey. Here a hard battle took place, but the Mex- 



334 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



icans were forced to yield the city and retreat toward the 
south. Meanwhile, General Winfield Scott had landed an 
army at Vera Cruz, and after taking the town started to fight 
his way through the mountains to Mexico City, When 
Santa Anna learned that Taylor was sending a part of his 

force to rein- 
force General 
Scott, he a t- 
tacked him on 
the "Plains of 
Buena Vista," a 
narrow moun- 
tain pass not far 
from Saltillo. 
The way in 
which Taylor, 
with only one- 
half as many 
men, beat back 
Santa Anna's 
furious charges, 
and finally 
routed the twen- 
ty thousand 
Mexicans, made 
"Old Rough and 
Ready," as he was called, the hero of the hour. 

General Scott's advance had been delayed by sickness 
among the soldiers not accustomed to a tropical climate, and 
by waiting for reinforcements, and it was August before 
his army of eleven thousand reached the plateau on which 
is situated the City of Mexico. At Puebla the Mexicans 
were defeated and then the road to the city was open. On 
August nineteenth and twentieth three heavy engagements 




THE MEXICAN WAR AREA 



WESTWARD EXPANSION 335 

took place in its suburbs in which, although vastly outnum- 
bered, the Americans won. The assault on the city itself 
was delayed for three weeks while the Mexicans talked 
terms. Unwilling to wait longer, on September thirteenth 
General Scott moved forward and began storming the 
Heights of Chapultepec, the main defense of the city. Dur- 
ing the night Santa Anna fled and on the morning of the 
fourteenth the American flag was raised over the City of 
Mexico. 

At the outbreak of hostilities with Mexico, American set- 
tlers in California formed a republic known as the "Bear 
State," from the design of a 
grizzly bear upon its flag. 
Lieutenant Fremont aban- 
doned his exploring and aided 
them in overthrowing Mexi- 
can power in northern Cali- 
fornia. Later, with the co- 

,• r a i. 1.-UI.J The Bear Flag Raised at 

operation of a fleet which had Sonoma, California, June 

arrived, Los Angeles was tak- 18, 1846, and Supplanted 

en, and by January, 1847, all ""^ ^'^ul? n,T846^'"'" 

of California had been freed 

from Mexican control. General Stephen W. Kearny had 
set out from Fort Leavenworth for the Far West the sum- 
mer before. He had captured Sante Fe and advanced three 
hundred miles westward when Kit Carson brought him a 
report of Fremont's campaign. With four hundred cavalry- 
men Kearny pushed on and by the spring of 1847 had taken 
possession of the whole of what is now New Mexico and 
Arizona. 

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, — From the start the 
northerners had looked on this as a "southern war" and as 
more and more territory fell into the hands of the American 
armies their opposition to it increased. To allay this feeling 



336 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




From a comic paper of the day 
"The United States Despoiling Mexico" 

The American peace commissioner is saying, 

"My government, gentlemen, will 

take nothing shorter" 



President Polk asked 
Congress for author- 
ity to spend two mil- 
lion dollars to secure 
peace. While this was 
under discussion Da- 
vid Wilmot, a Demo- 
cratic member from 
Pennsylvania, offered 
in the House of Rep- 
resentatives a "pro- 
viso" prohibiting slav- 
ery in any territory 
which might be ac- 
quired from Mexico. 
This was defeated, although there was great difference of 
opinion over the matter. Some of the president's Cabinet 
even deemed it the nation's duty to annex the whole of 
Mexico in the interest of civilization. 

In February, 1848, a treaty was signed at Guadalupe Hi- 
dalgo agreeing that the boundary should be the Rio Grande 
and Gila Rivers and a rather irregular line connecting them. 
The United States promised to pay Mexico $15,000,000 and 
also claims due American citizens by Mexico amounting to 
$3,250,000. An area of 529,189 square miles, more than one 
and a half times that of the original thirteen states, was 
gained by the United States. Four years later, in order that 
a railroad projected from El Paso to the Pacific coast might 
be built wholly on United States soil, and also to eliminate 
the cause of certain friction which had arisen in New 
Mexico, the Mexicans were induced to sell 29,671 additional 
square miles. For this strip of territory in what is now 
southern New Mexico and Arizona, the United States paid 
$10,000,000. It is known as the Gadsden Purchase, because 
the negotiations were conducted by James Gadsden, the 
minister to Mexico at that time. 




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WESTWARD EXPANSION 337 

President Polk was able to retire from office happy in 
having realized for the country its "manifest destiny" by 
planting the stars and stripes on the whole length of the 
Pacific coast from the Strait of San Juan de Fuca to the 
peninsula of southern California. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. In your note-book draw a map of the United States (or better, 

secure an outline map of the United States) and locate the 
Oregon Country, the Oregon Trail and the Mexican cessions. 

2. For what purpose did settlers migrate to the Oregon Country? 

Write in your note-book a description of Fremont's explora- 
tions. Do you think President Polk's "manifest destiny" 
project right or wrong? Give reason for your answer. 

3. Locate on a map of western North America the latitude of 54° 

40', and explain why we did not fight for this boundary. 

4. Give the causes that led to the War with Mexico. Why was this 

war popular in the South and unpopular in the North? 

5. Write in your note-book a list of the most important results of 

the War with Mexico. Locate the Gadsden Purchase on a 
map. 

6. Contrast our relations with Mexico in 1845 with our present 

relations, and determine which is the greater cause for war. 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. The Oregon and Santa Fe Trails. 

2. John C. Fremont, the "Pathfinder"; Kit Carson, the Scout; 

Marcus Whitman, the Father of Oregon. 

REFERENCES 

1. Wilson's Division and Reunion, pp. 152-154. 

2. Spark's The Men Who Made the Nation, pp. 332-333. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

THE END OF THE WHIG PARTY 

Zacliary Taylor, President, 1841^-18^0 
Millard Fillmore, President, i8^o-i8^S 



The election of 1848. — As early as 1840 the question of 
slavery had begun to split the old political parties. That 
year anti-slavery enthusiasts from the North formed a new 
party and their candidate received about seven thousand 
votes. In 1844, when the country was wrought up over the 
question of annexing Texas, they called themselves the 
"Liberty Party" and polled sixty-two thousand votes. 

In their platform of 1848 neither Whigs nor Democrats 
mentioned slavery. The Whigs, whose strength lay in the 

North, nominated for 
the presidency Gen- 
eral Taylor, the hero 
of Buena Vista — a 
Louisiana slaveholder. 
The Democrats, al- 
ready considered a 
southern party, chose 
a candidate from the 
North — General 
Lewis Cass, of Michi- 
m Territory -No \Jo7c gan. Large numbers 

^. ., . r T-1 1 IT . • .1 of anti- slavery men 

Distribution of Electoral Votes in the ■' 

Election of 1848 now withdrew from 

.138 




THE END OF THE WHIG PARTY 



339 



both parties, accusing them of being afraid to take a position 
on the slavery question. Joining with the old "Liberty" vot- 
ers they launched the Free-Soil party and nominated Martin 
Van Buren, the New York State "boss," as their standard 
bearer. The Free-Soil platform stated that "it was once the 
settled policy of the nation to discourage and not encourage 
slavery," and declared, "We do not propose any interfer- 
ence by Congress with slavery within the limits of any 
state." The three hundred thousand votes polled by this 
new party took away so many votes from the Democrats 
that the Whigs were able to elect General Taylor. 

Gold is discovered in California. — Nine days before the 
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, gold was discov- 
ered in California. 
Sacramento, the 
present capital, was 
then a village of two 
hundred inhabitants. 
About a hundred 
miles to the north- 
east John Sutter, a 
Swiss, had a large 
ranch. While dig- 
ging a mill race on 
the bank of the 
American fork of 
the Sacramento Riv- 
er his men observed 
some glittering par- 
ticles in the sand that looked like gold. Some of these 
were taken to Monterey and the army officers there pro- 
nounced the "find" genuine gold. The report spread as if 
borne by the winds, and from every direction there was 
a rush for Sutter's ranch. Soldiers deserted the army posts, 
and sailors jumped ashore as soon as their ships anchored 




Sutter's Mill at Coloma, California, 
in 1849 



340 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



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From an old inint 

A Scene at the Mines in California 

in San Francisco Bay. Merchants left their stores, and 
clerks forsook their employers to join in the mad race. The 
gold seekers swarmed over Sutter's ranch and ruined the 
owner by stealing his stock, digging great holes all over his 
land, and exhausting the streams of water to wash gold dust 
from the sand. Within four months Sacramento had a 
population of four thousand and before winter the region 
had yielded five million dollars' worth of gold. 

Gold seekers rush to California. — The following year 
(1849) saw a hundred thousand persons in California. 
They had come from Europe, in fact from every civilized 
land. The gold fields were reached from the East by three 
routes — around Cape Horn, across the Isthmus of Panama 
and up the Pacific coast, and by the overland trail. So 
great was the traffic by the Isthmus route that in 1855 a rail- 
road was built across the Isthmus. By far the largest num- 
ber of gold seekers, however, took the overland route, 
although it required at least a hundred days to make the 



THE END OF THE WHIG PARTY 



341 



trip from Independence and the other Missouri River ports. 
There were so many people going to California that the 
trails seemed alive with prairie "schooners" as far as the 
eye could reach. Many poorer persons even attempted the 
journey on foot, trundling their camp equipment in hand 
carts and wheelbarrows. In addition to constant danger 




A Caravan Attacked by Indians on the Road to California 



of attack from hostile Indians who infested the trail, the 
gold seekers had to endure all manner of hardships — steep 
mountains, waterless deserts, flooded rivers, hunger and 
thirst, and even an epidemic of cholera. For years after- 
ward the California trail was marked by the bleaching bones 
of the "forty-niners" and their beasts. 

California knocks for admission. — In 1849, although 
.San Francisco alone had a population of twenty thousand, 
Congress made no effort to provide California with a gov- 
ernment. "Vigilance Committees" had been formed by the 
citizens to keep a semblance of order in the mining camps 
by meting out justice as stern as it was swift. That year 
a convention was held to draft a constitution and organize 
a state government. In their constitution the Californians 
provided that the state should extend from Oregon to the 
Mexican border, and that slavery should be forbidden. Al- 



342 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




From an old print 

The Vigilance Committee Meting Out Justice to a Man 
Who Stole a Safe 



though a few southerners had hrought their -slaves with 
them when they came to CaHfornia, they soon found that 
slavery would not be tolerated around the mines where all 
men insisted on an equal chance. 

Slavery and the Southwest. — After the adoption of the 
Missouri Compromise fifteen years elapsed before any new 
states were admitted. In 1836-1837 Arkansas came into the 
Union with slaves and Michigan without, and thus the sec- 
tions remained balanced in the Senate. The admission of 
Texas and Florida, in 1845, was balanced by that of Iowa 
in 1846 and Wisconsin two years later. The great accession 
of territory which followed the Mexican War at once raised 
the question, "Shall it be slave or free?" It was already evi- 
dent that California would eventually seek admission as a 
free state. The northern members of Congress generally 
believed in prohibiting slavery in any state created out of the 
Mexican cession. The southern statesmen fell back on 
the constitutional argument that Congress had no right to 
deal with the problem at all, and insisted that the region 



THE END OF THE WHIG PARTY 



343 



should be open to slavery. Members bent on compromise 
suggested that the hne 36° 30' be extended to the Pacific, 
dividing California into two states, one free and the other 
slave, as had been 
President Polk's 
plan. 

Texas insisted that 
her western bound- 
ary followed the Rio 
Grande. If this were 
allowed, a large part 
of New Mexico, in- 
cluding Sante Fe, 
would become slave 
territory. President 
Taylor strongly op- 
posed any such 
thing, and Henry 
Clay was of the 
opinion that since 
New Mexico had not 
been allowed slavery 
under Mexican rule, 
the institution was 
forbidden there by 
the terms of the 
Treaty of Guada- 
lupe Hidalgo. It was surely a Congress of varied views that 
received California's knock for admission in 1850. 

The compromise of 1850. — When Congress met in 1849 
dissension was rife. Already displeased with California's 
constitution, the South was further irritated by a northern 
movement for the abolition of slavery in the District of CJiQff 
lumbia. From his beautiful "Ashland" estate, near Lexing- 
ton, Kentucky, whither he had retired to end his days in 




■ 



Claimed by Texas and Mexico prior 
to 1848. 



Ceded to tlic United States by Texas 
in 1850. 



Confirmed l)y the United States to 
Texas in 1850. 



The Texas Boundary Dispute 



344 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



quiet, the aged Henry Clay was summoned to return to the 
Senate in an effort to prevent disunion. In January, 1850, 
Clay submitted his "Omnibus Bill," designed to allay the 
feelings of both North and South, and to settle forever the 
differences growing out of the slavery question. The pro- 
visions of this great compromise measure were as follows : 



(1) California was to be admitted as a free state. 

(2) Texas was to be paid ten million dollars in settlement 
of her western claims. 

(3) The Mexican lands were to be divided into two terri- 
tories, Utah and New Mexico, in which slaves could be 
held. When ready for statehood the decision as to slavery 
should be made by each for itself. 

(4) The buying and selling of slaves was to be forbidden 
in the District of Columbia, but not the ownership of them. 

(5) An effective fugitive slave law was to be enacted. 

The Omnibus Bill was under discussion for seven months 
and during that time President Taylor, who opposed it, 
died. Vice-President Millard Fillmore, of New York, who 
now became president, favored the measure. Some of 

the most memorable speeches 
ever heard in the United States 
Senate were occasioned by it. 
John C. Calhoun, now so feeble 
that his speech had to be read 
for him, warned the North that 
unless they yielded something 
the Union would go to pieces. 
Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, 
insisted that the line of 36° 30' 
must go through to the Pacific, 
let the Calif ornians say what 
they would. Daniel Webster, a 
John C. Calhoun champion of the compromise, 




THE F.ND OF THE WHIG PARTY 



345 



felt so sure that slavery would prove an economic failure in 
Utah and New Mexico that he "would not take pains to 
reaffirm an ordinance of nature or re-enact the will of God." 

The Fugitive Slave Law. — The Fugitive Slave Law of 
1792 required state and county officials, sheriffs and con- 
stables to assist slave owners in recovering their runaway 
slaves. As the sentiment against slavery grew, these officers 
in Northern States frequently refused to obey the law. 
To render difficult its enforcement, some of the states 
enacted "Personal Liberty Laws" forbidding the seizure of 
slaves within their borders. 

Beginning about 1830 the "Underground Railroad" was 
organized for the purpose of assisting fugitive negroes to 




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The Irnproved a 
Md Lundy. with ihi 
accommodation for 
trips during the pres 
IhePalnarchalDom 
Genllemen and Lad 
health or circmnslar 
folly invited to sive 

SEATS FREE. 

Necessary Clothi 
live "fallen among 



NEW ARRANQEWIENT— NIOHT AND^ DAY. 



iii splendid Locomotivej, Clatkson 
Bu trains lived up in the best style of 

passengers, will run their regular 
sent season, between t^e borders of 
inion and Liberty ville. Upper C«nada. 
es, who may wish to improve their 
ces, by a northern tour, arc respect- 
us their patronage 
irrespzri'ms f>f color, 
ng furnished gratuitously (0 lltch 19 
tAteitei." 



Hide the outcasts — let the oppreiseti go free.'' — BIblf. 

rCT^For seals apply at any of tha trap doors, or to 
the conductor of the train. 

, „ J. CROSS, Proprulor. 

IV. B. For the special benellt of Pfo-Slavery Police 
Officers, an ejtra heavy wagon for Teias. will be fur. 
nishcd, whenever it may be necessary, in v/hich ihev 
will be forwarded as dead freight, t» tha " Valley of Rai. 
cals,**. always a( the risk of the o\*ners. 

[C7"E»li'» Overcoats provided for such of their «« 
^are alllicted with protracted f/iillyphoiia. 



Facsimile of an Advertisement of the Underground Railway 
Published in an Indiana Newspaper in July, 1844 



reach Canada. There they were safe from arrest since 
slavery was excluded from the British colonies. Abolition- 
ists who placed the individual conscience above the law of 



246 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

the land banded together to encourage slaves to run away 
and even sent agents to the South to start them on the long 
trip. Once across Mason and Dixon's Line, traveling was 
easy, for they were concealed in garrets, cellars and barns 
by day and transported secretly by night, until at last they 
were safe across the Canadian boundary. In thirty years 
the southern planters thus lost at least thirty thousand 
slaves. 

The new fugitive law placed the responsibility for the cap- 
ture of the runaway negroes on the United States marshals, 
and provided that all persons, when called upon, were bound 
to assist in their restitution. 

Slaves were not to be permitted trial by jury, for their 
owners could not hope for justice from northern jurors. 
So strongly opposed to slavery were some of the states that 
in several the legislatures passed laws forbidding their citi- 
zens to aid in the capture of runaway negroes. A Wiscon- 
sin act required state officials "to use all lawful means to 
protect, defend and procure to be discharged every person 
arrested or claimed as a fugitive slave." This nullification 
of an act of Congress was defended on the ground that the 
higher law of right and justice took precedence over any 
enacted by man. 

Uncle Tom's Cabin. — While the country was excited 
over the effort to return hundreds of runaway negroes to 
their legal owners, Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel. Uncle 
Tom's Cabin, appeared. The book was written to arouse 
more sentiment against the enforcement of the Fugitive 
Slave Law. The author, a Connecticut woman, had not ob- 
served slavery farther south than just across the Ohio 
River. She drew an imaginary picture of the system, exag- 
gerating its evils, and readers unaware of the true condi- 
tions of slave life accepted the portrayal as genuine. Two 
hundred thousand copies of Uncle Tom's Cabin were sold 



THE END OF THE WHIG PARTY 347 

the first year after its publication, and the book undoubtedly 
did much to make a continuance of the federal compact so 
intolerable that the Southern States were driven to secession. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. In what year was gold discovered in California? Describe the 

consequent rush to California, and trace on a map the three 
routes from the East to the gold fields. 

2. What attitude did California take toward slavery? Why? 

3. What was the opinion of the southern section of the country 

as to slavery in the Southwest? Of the northern section? 

4. Henry Clay was known as the "Great Pacificator." State clearly 

his compromise of 1850. What is meant by "compromise"? 
On what other occasions did Clay succeed in making compro- 
mises in Congress? How many times was Clay a candidate 
for the presidency? Write in your note-book an account of 
Clay as a statesman, and try to learn the reasons why he did 
not succeed in becoming president. 

5. What were the purposes of the "Fugitive Slave Law," "Per- 

sonal Liberty Laws," "the Underground Railway" and Uncle 
Tom's Cabin? Give both a northern and a southern view- 
point. 

6. Write in your note-book a statement giving the views of Henry 

Clay, Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun on the slavery 
controversy in the Southwest. 

7. How did many people in the North justify the violation of the 

Fugitive Slave Law? How did the slaveholder feel about the 
violation of this law? 

SUBJECTS FOR P'URTHER STUDY 

1. The history of the Whig party. 

2. Tlie short-lived Free Soil party. 

3. The growth of anti-slavery sentiment in the North. 

REFERENCES 

1. Elson's Side Lights on American History, Vol. I, Chapters XIII 

and XIV. 

2. Spark's The Men Who Made the Nation, pp. 335-346. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

A QUARTER OF A CENTURY OF PROGRESS 

Growth of population. — The growth of the United 
States, since its formation, has excited the wonder of the 
world. By the middle of the nineteenth century its area had 
expanded to nearly three and a half times that of the orig- 
inal thirteen states, and its population was eight times that 
enumerated in the first census (1790), While the natural 
increase was responsible for a part of this growth of popu- 
lation by far the most of it was due to immigration. The 
abundance of well-paid "jobs," the free homesteads in 
the West, and the liberal government attracted millions of 
good citizens from all parts of Europe. Between 1820 and 

1850, the population 
In hundreds of thousands • , <• , 
1 ^ . , ■ ■■. . I , :j mcreased from ten 

million to twenty- 
three million. Prior 
to 1820 immigration 

Germanv rn Other did HOt CXCCCd tCU 

' \ I Countries 

T • *• 1 X 100A ^ locn thousand a year, but 

Immigration between 1820 and 1850 -^ . , 

after that it in- 
creased rapidly, due to the demand for laborers, occasioned 
by the establishment of mills and factories, the opening of 
mines, and the building of highways, canals and railroads. 
To help supply this demand in 1830 twenty-three thousand 
immigrants came to America, and by the end of Jackson's 
administration the number had increased to seventy-nine 
thousand a year. Most of them were from England, Ire- 
land and Germany, although as early as 1825 the "sloop 

348 




A QUART P:R of A CENTURY OF PROGRESS 349 

folk" (Scandinavians), so called because they came in small 
vessels, began to arrive. 

Adverse conditions abroad foster emigration. — The 
number of foreigners coming to the United States in- 
creased from one hundred thousand in 1840 to three hun- 
dred and ten thousand in 1850. This tremendous growth 
was due largely to two events in Europe in no way con- 
nected with America. In 1845 and 1846 the potato crop 
failed in Ireland and, as fully one-half the Irish depended 
on it for their food supply, the condition of the island was 
pitiable. Within the next five years its population was re- 
duced over two million through emigration or an excessive 
death rate occasioned by lack of food. After recovering 
from the famine Ireland was in a state of discord for a long 
time. The Irish were rebellious because the British did not 
allow them an assembly of their own. Many of them were 
Roman Catholics and objected to being taxed to support 
the Church of England. Worst of all, most of the land be- 
longed to large estates owned by wealthy landlords who 
lived in England and had little interest in Ireland beyond 
getting their rents. 

In 1848 the people in many parts of Germany rose in re- 
volt and demanded a voice in the government and relief 
from the oppressive military system. For the most part 
this revolution failed. With its collapse thousands of indus- 
trious Germans began coming to the United States. 

Where the immigrants settled. — Most of the Irish and 
a part of the Germans settled in the eastern industrial 
sections. Other Germans formed colonies in some of the 
thriving western towns, like Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee 
and Cincinnati. The English and Scandinavians usually 
sought homesteads on the public domain and went to farm- 
ing. So great became the travel westward that more rapid 
transportation was required than that afforded by the Erie 



350 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

Canal and Great Lakes ; as a consequence through raihvay 
service from the East to Chicago was estabhshed in 1853. 

Why European immigrants did not settle in the South. 
— Of the three million immigrants entering the country prior 
to 1850, few located in the South. There was no demand 
for white laborers on the plantations and slaveholders feared 
many of them in the country would arouse discontent among 
the slaves and possibly lead to uprisings. Neither did the 
prospect of working alongside slaves appeal to even the 
poorest immigrants. The result was that, although in 1790 
the population of the North and South had been about 
equal, by 1850 there were nearly three times as many per- 
sons in the free states as in those permitting slavery. 

Cities and city life. — In 1790 only about three per cent, 
of the population lived in towns of twenty-five hundred or 
more inhabitants. By 1850 twelve and one-half per cent, 
were residents of such places, and five-sixths of these towns 
were in the free states. In 1790 there were only eight cities 
of more than eight thousand inhabitants, and in 1850 there 
were eighty-five. Six of them had over a hundred thousand 
population each, and New York, the metropolis, boasted 
of five hundred thousand. One of these six cities was 
strictly a southern town — New Orleans — with one hundred 
and fifteen thousand people, while Baltimore and Cin- 
cinnati owed their prosperity largely to the southern trade. 

Problems in city government. — With the development 
of cities the inevitable municipal problems arose — water 
supply, lighting, sewerage, paving, transportation, policing 
and protection against fire. By 1842 New York had com- 
pleted an aqueduct bringing a supply of pure water from a 
lake thirty-eight miles distant and across a river, and soon 
after all the large cities were provided with water-works. 
The discovery that oil and gas could be made from coal led 
to lighting cities by placing "coal oil" lamps and gas-lights 
at the street corners. In the business districts the streets 



A QUARTER OF A CENTURY OF PROGRESS 351 




were paved with cobble stones and macadam. In 1850 
steam fire-engines began to supplant the hand engines and 
the old -fire buckets which by municipal regulation every 
householder was supposed to keep ready for instant use. 
The same year wit- 
nessed the first regu- 
lar police force — 
organized in Phila- 
delphia to replace 
the constables and 
unreliable "night 
watches." In New 
York and the other 
large cities omni- 
buses enabled those ^^ ^'^ ^=^"^ ^'"' ^"8'^^ 
who did not own carriages or wagons to get about more 
quickly than afoot. 

Inventions. — By the end of this period the invention of 
many kinds of machinery had lightened labor. Since with 
these machines more work could be done in less time, the 
cost of production of many articles in common use was re- 
duced and their price correspond- 
ingly lessened. Much of the new 
machinery required operatives of 
more than ordinary intelligence 
and this tended to arouse in 
youths an appreciation of the ad- 
vantages of an education. 

The sewing machine. — Within 
the homes cooking stoves had 
come into use, and oil lamps had 
taken the place of tallow candles. 
Friction matches, first made in 1837, had done away with 
the old flint and steel. The invention of the sewing machine 
in 1846 bv Klias Howe, a poor Massachusetts inventor, had 




The Original Howe 
Sewint>' Macliine 



352 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



begun to revolutionize the life of women. Within fifteen 
years forty thousand of them were sold. 

The reaper. — Until about 1830 farmers reaped their 
grain by sickles and cradles, and either flailed it out by hand 
or had it stamped out by cattle or horses on the barn floor. 
In 1834, Cyrus McCormick, of Virginia, perfected a horse- 
drawn reaper, by means of which one man could do the 
work of several. Failing to interest his neighbors in his 
invention, McCormick went west and induced the farmers 
of the prairie states to try it. The machine was a success 
from the start and factories for its manufacture were built 
at Cincinnati and Chicago. The harvester was soon fol- 
lowed by the self-binder which not only cut the grain but 
raked it up and bound it into bundles, and this a little 
later by a thrasher operated by horses or an engine. These 
inventions had freed farming from much of its drudgery 
and made it more profitable, and were carrying "permanent 
civilization westward fifty miles a year." 

The telegraph. — In 1843 Congress appropriated thirty 

thousand dollars to 
test the invention on 
which Professor 
Samuel F. B. Morse 
had been working 
for years. It was an 
electrical device by 
which the inventor 
hoped to establish 
communication b e - 
tween persons at a 
distance. To the 
amusement of the 
doubting farmers 
along the way small 
oopi^er wires were 




From a comic paper of 1849 

Old woman: "Well, I've been a-watching these 

plaguey wires these two hours, and haven't seed 

a single letter or anything pass" 

A Cartoon on the Telcgrapli 



A QUARTER OF A CENTURY OF PROGRESS 353 

stretched from Washington to Baltimore, a distance of 
forty miles. On May 24, 1844, a few persons assembled 
in the Senate Chamber to watch Professor Morse click 
off. in dots and dashes, to the operator at the other end of 
the line, the message, "What hath God wrought." The 
intense suspense was relieved almost immediately by hearing 
in dots and dashes the same message repeated back from 
Baltimore. At last the possibility of rapid communication 
between places far removed had been established. Within 
three years telegraph lines were in operation connecting 




Facsimile of the First Telegraphic Message Sent by 
Professor Morse 

most of the larger cities in the United States, and were 
even being established in the countries of Europe. 

Other scientific discoveries. — In 1839 the first photo- 
graph was made by the Daguerre process — exposing in a 
camera a copper plate covered with a film sensitized to the 
action of sunlight. The year 1842 witnessed the first pain- 
less surgery. Doctor Crawford W. Long, of Georgia, had 
discovered that the fumes of sulphuric ether had a peculiar 
effect on the human system, producing temporary uncon- 
sciousness. By the use of this anesthetic surgeons were 
able to perform operations without pain and with less dan- 
ger. By many this discovery is considered the greatest 
blessing that science has bestowed on mankind. The next 
year the process of vulcanizing or hardening India rubber, 
so that it will not get sticky when exposed to heat, was 
invented by Charles Goodyear. Richard M. Hoe, of New 



354 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

York, constructed the first rotary printing press in 1846. 
More impressions could be made by it in an hour than by 
an old hand press in a day. 

The iron industry. — Up to the Revolutionary War 
most of the iron goods used in the colonies came from Eng- 
land, although ore was found in all of them and forges were 
in operation where it was melted down into pig iron. The 
war with England gave a great impetus to the iron industry, 
but for a long time wrought-iron and steel goods were 
costly, due to the use of charcoal and imported coal for 
fuel. When the War of 1812 cut off the English coal, mines 
were opened in Pennsylvania. With fuel close at hand, this 
state could produce iron at less expense than other localities, 
and it quickly became the center of the iron and steel in- 
dustry. 

The rapid introduction of machinery and the building of 
railroads created an enormous demand for cheap iron. At 
about this time beds of coal and limestone were found close 
to large iron deposits in western Pennsylvania. This led 
to the establishment of many furnaces and rolling mills in 
the valleys of the Alleghany and Monongahela Rivers ; 
Pittsburgh, at their junction, became a large smoky city in 
its efforts to furnish the West with the iron and steel needed 
by its railroads and industries. 

Transportation. — During the ten years prior to 1840 
two thousand miles of railroads were constructed in the 
United States, and in the next decade nearly five thou- 
sand more. Northern lines were built largely to accommo- 
date passenger travel ; southern to facilitate transportation 
of cotton, tobacco and plantation supplies. By 1842 a road 
had been completed from Boston to Buffalo ; by 1850 Fred- 
ericksburg, Virginia, was connected with Wilmington, Nor- 
folk with Raleigh, Savannah with Macon, and Charleston 
with Chattanooga. The first through trains between Chi- 



A QUARTER OF A CENTURY OF PROGRESS 355 




cago and New York were installed in 1852. A ticket from 
Boston to Chicago cost twenty-three dollars and the trip 
required fifty-four 
hours. About this time 
the Woodruff sleeping 
cars were placed in op- 
eration, and railway 
bridges across streams 
replaced the inconve- 
nient ferries. The elec- 
tric telegraph had not 
yet been utilized for con- 
trolling the movement 
of trains, so when one 
failed to arrive at its 
destination on time an 
engine equipped with 
chains and jackscrews 
was sent to the rescue. Accidents were so frequent that 
laws were enacted making railway companies liable for 
damages in case of injury or death to passengers. 

So anxious were the people to have railroads built that 
the plan of aiding them by grants of land and money bonuses 
was inaugurated. It is claimed that one-third the cost of 
construction was paid by contributions received from states, 
counties and towns. Congress granted large tracts of public 
lands to the Illinois Central and to the Mobile and Ohio com- 
])anies, while the Western and Southern States — especially 
Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Georgia and Tennessee — gave 
much financial assistance. 

Post-offices. — The rapid settling of the West resulted 
in thousands of new post-ofifices, for it was the government's 
policy to place one wherever a permanent settlement was 
made. Postage stamps came into use in 1847. The rates 



From a Comic Paper 
A Sure Way to Prevent Railway 
Accidents 

Chaining two directors to the front 
of each engine 



356 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



were five cents a half-ounce for distances under three hun- 
dred miles, and ten cents for those over. In 1851 a uni- 
form three-cent rate was adopted. 






postTSrncE 


s 





Facsimile of Postage Stamps Issued by Local 
Postmasters about 1845 



The Wells-Fargo express service. — As early as 1839, 
W. F. Harnden began making regular trips between Boston 
and New York for the purpose of carrying valuable let- 
ters and packages. Encouraged by the patronage of busi- 
ness firms he opened offices along the route and extended 
his service to Philadelphia. Six years later Wells and 
Fargo established a company called "express" because 
of the fast time made between Cincinnati, St. Louis and 
Chicago, and the eastern cities. When the rush to Cali- 
fornia began the company sold its eastern lines (1852) and 
established express service to the Pacific coast by way of 
Panama and the overland routes. Stage-coach lines and 
wagon trains were added, and later the Wells-Fargo Pony 
Express which made the trip from San Francisco to Inde- 
pendence on the Missouri River by way of Salt Lake City 
in eight days. Early transcontinental express service was 
costly — five dollars for a letter to the "states" by the pony 
express, and seventy-five cents a pound for large pack- 
ages from New York to San Francisco by the Panama 
route. 

Steamships. — The first steamship to cross the Atlantic 
was the Savannah, which made its initial voyage from 
Savannah to Liverpool in 1819. The possibilities afiforded 
by steamships for ocean transportation did not appeal to 



A QUARTER OF A CENTURY OF PROGRESS 357 




An American Clipper 



American ship owners, and they kept on building fast sail- 
ing "clippers" for the China and East India trade. In 1840, 
by liberal "subsidies" or money grants. Great Britain en- 
couraged the Cunard Steamship Company to establish a 
regular line of pack- 
ets between Liverpool 
and New York. In 
1845 Congress began 
encouraging the estab- 
lishment of compet- 
ing American lines, 
by subsidizing one 
from New York to 
Bremen and another 
to Liverpool. Three 
years afterward the Pacific Mail Steamship Company inau- 
gurated service between New York and San Francisco by 
way of Cape Horn. When Congress discontinued its sub- 
sidies, as it did a few years after the return of the Demo- 
crats to power, American steamship companies languished 
and soon the carrying trade was almost wholly in British 
hands. 

The labor movement. — With the rise of the factory 
system came new economic problems. Formerly in their 
own homes or in small shops the workmen — weavers, join- 
ers, shoemakers, etc. — had turned out finished products. In 
the factories, however, each workman learned to operate a 
single machine which completed only one step in the process 
of manufacture, and of course became expert in his partic- 
ular part of the work. Formerly employer and employee 
worked side by side in the shop ; but under the factory sys- 
tem there could be little personal relationship between them. 
In their work the employees were supervised by "foremen" 
kept in their places to secure "production" by driving the 
workers as much as possible. The owners were busy, too. 



358 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

but their labor was not so much in evidence. Out of the 
new system there developed two classes which apparently 
had nothing in common — Labor and Capital. In the eyes 
of Labor the life of Capital was easy. It appeared to have 
no worries and lived amid luxury that Labor's scanty wages 
could never buy. Capital demanded the largest profits pos- 
sible from the smallest outlay, and was sure that if Labor 
would not shirk so much production could be greatly in- 
creased. Neither recognized his dependence on the other. 

In 1840 President Van Buren fixed the length of the 
working day for government employees at ten hours, much 
to the disgust of private employers who often exacted 
twelve to fourteen. Unskilled labor received fifty or sev- 
enty-five cents a day, while such artisans as carpenters, 
blacksmiths and masons were paid about a dollar and a 
half. In order not to deprive the farmers of their "hired 
men," when the New England cotton and woolen mills were 
established they began the employment of women and chil- 
dren. For a long time most of their "hands" came from 
the farming communities and foreign immigrants did not 
readily find employment in them. The Irish, mostly un- 
skilled, sought work that required brawn. They dug canals 
and tunnels, laid railway tracks, drove teams and handled 
freight. The German element became farm hands. 

Organization of labor unions. — Persons in the same 
business or occupation are always disposed to unite for 
mutual benefit, and very early American manufacturers 
saw the coming of trade unions with demands for shorter 
hours and more pay. The state legislatures were induced 
to enact laws forbidding the formation of unions and mak- 
ing "walk-outs" and strikes punishable as misdemeanors. 
These laws, however, were not enforced, and labor unions 
came into existence rapidly after 1825. The first was 
formed by New England women workers in cotton mills. 
Next, Philadelphia machinists organized, and then New 



A QUARTER OF A CENTURY OF PROGRESS 359 




A Labor Parade in the Early Days of Unionism 



York ship carpenters formed a imion and demanded a ten- 
hour day. By 1828 the laboring classes began to awake to 
their strength at the polls, as now manhood stififrage pre- 
vailed in most of the states. Organizations in certain locali- 
ties decided to support only those candidates who favored 
recognition of the rights of labor. As traveling facilities in- 
creased different groups of working men planned national 
organizations, and soon after 1850 several were eft'ected. 

Little interest in labor movement in the South. — Fac- 
tories were so few in the South that the labor movement 
excited little concern there. Many slaves had been trained 
to be skilled mechanics and were "rented out" by their 
owners. Though by means of overseers the planters ex- 
acted all the labor possible from the slaves, few were so 
blind to their own interests as to overwork or abuse them, 
any more than they would maim or injure a valuable horse. 
It is probably true, as Calhoun insisted, that slaves were 



360 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

better conditioned than the average white factory workers 
— sure of being fed, clothed and housed in bad times as well 
as good, and cared for in sickness and old age. 

Education. — The quarter of a century ending with 1850 
witnessed a great advance in educational opportunity. 
Gradually legislatures had been forced to provide funds for 
the support of public schools which should replace those 
maintained by tuition or private contributions. Now that 
the states had manhood suffrage an ability to read and 
write was imperative. The factories, too, were constantly 
demanding more intelligent workmen. Foreign immigrants, 
mostly illiterate, were arriving in great numbers, and these 
must be prepared for citizenship lest the safety of the nation 
be endangered. The "three R's" would no longer meet the 
needs of the times so geography and history were added to 
the public school curriculum. 

Organization of public schools. — All this had not come 
about easily. The foundations of the public school system 
were, laid amid violent opposition. Prominent educators 
had spent years agitating the need of schools supported by 
adequate taxes. Among these "evangelists" were Horace 
Mann, of Massachusetts ; Henry Barnard, of Connecticut ; 
Emma Willard, principal of the Troy (New York) Semi- 
nary; and Fanny Wright, the Scotch labor agitator. By 
1850 all the states had made some provision for public 
schools. In the South the wealthy planters still preferred 
to employ private tutors and patronize the excellent acad- 
emies within easy reach, but schools were established in 
the towns for children who could not enjoy such privileges. 

Beginning of state universities. — Without the aid of 
l)ublic lands, such as had been received by the states carved 
from the Northwest Territory and the Louisiana Purchase, 
the Southern States took the lead in founding stale uni- 
versities. North Carolina established hers in 1795, Georgia 
in 1801 and South Carolina in 1804. Tn 1805, a year be- 



A QUARTER OF A CENTURY OF PROGRESS 



361 



fore his death, Thomas Jefferson saw his ambition for 
higher education in Virginia reahzed by the opening of the 
University of Virginia in a group of beautiful buildings 
designed by himself. 




The Old Quadrangle at the University of Virginia 

Rise of American literature. — The people of the United 
States had disproved the statement of a certain Englishman 
who said, "The mass of the North Americans are too proud 
to learn and too ignorant to teach, and having established 
themselves by act of Congress as the most enlightened peo- 
ple of the world they bid fair to retain their barbarism from 
mere regard to consistency." Already books written by 
Americans were being read in England. The year 1820 saw 
the dawn of American literature when Washington Irving 
])ublished the Sketch Book, filled with fascinating legends, 
and James Fenimore Cooper his exciting revolutionary 
tale, The Spy. The next thirty years are rightly entitled the 
"glorious period" of American literature. During this 
period appeared the poems of the New England quartet — 
William Cullen Bryant, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 
James Russell Lowell and John Greenleaf Whittier. Edgar 
Allan Poe, the southern genius, was writing his weird tales ; 
and Nathaniel Hawthorne and William Gilmore Simms were 
producing their inimitable stories. 

The daily newspaper. — The more rapid facilities for 
travel and communication brought about the daily news- 



362 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




paper. It was now possible to gather news quickly and dis- 
seminate it before it had lost its "freshness." Popular 
education had so increased the number of persons who could 
read that by 1850 there were over three hundred "dailies" 

in the United States. The 
great increase in circula- 
tion and advertising had 
brought subscription 
prices down and in 1838 
the Nezv York Sun aston- 
ished the public by com- 
ing out as a "penny pa- 
per." The demand for 
more rapid means of 
printing these papers 
than that afforded by the 
old "lever" press was 
met by harnessing the 
steam engine to the new 
rotary printing press. By 
1850 Liverpool steamers 
bound for New York 
were met by fast express 
boats a hundred miles 
ofif Halifax to obtain the 
latest European news, 
which was then tele- 
graphed to the New 
York dailies from the 
Nova Scotia capital. 
The magazine. — Magazines had improved greatly in 
quality. The North American Review, founded at the close 
of the War of 1812, was still published. Others were Har- 
per's Magazine, with one hundred and forty thousand sub- 
scribers ; The Southern Literary Messenger and Russell's 



The Printing Press on Which the 

Missouri Gazette Was Printed at 

St. Louis in 1819 



A QUARTER OF A CENTURY OF PROGRESS 



363 




The Friends* Alms House at 

Pliiladelpliia 

Built in 1729, it was the first in America 



Magazine. Since the publication of the Ladies' Magazine 
(1827) with its attempt at illustration, magazines had given 
more and more at- 
tention to that fea- 
ture, and as a re- 
sult the art of steel 
engraving had 
reached a high 
state of perfection. 

The reform 
movement. — In no 
way was progress 
better shown than 
in the more hu- 
mane attitude dis- 
played toward the 

weak and unfortunate. Prison reform had spread from 
Philadelphia, and everywhere jails were being made more 
sanitary. Imprisonment for debt had been abolished and 
laws enacted to protect bankrupt persons. Asylums had 
been built for the orphaned and aged, and slowly the states 
were taking their insane from the jails and placing them 
in hospitals. 

Drunkenness. — The hard times of Monroe's adminis- 
tration caused general misery and degradation among the 
people. An official investigation showed drunkenness to be 
the chief cause of it. Whisky and rum drinking was com- 
mon to all classes of society. The minister took his toddy 
before starting for church ; the merchant and his customer 
concluded their trade over glasses of the "real thing" ; and 
working men and women insisted on their "drams" regu- 
larly. Everywhere city grocers and country merchants 
carried stocks of liquors the same as other merchandise. 
In 1824 the first total abstinence society was formed in 
Boston and by 1850 there were over a thousand such or- 



364 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



ganizations. In 1846 Maine was able to enact a prohibition 
law which forbade the manufacture and sale of liquor, and 
later this was incorporated in the state constitution. 

Child labor. — The labor unions were opposing "child 
labor" in factories. From the beginning the employment of 
children had been part of the factory system. They could 
operate the light machinery of cotton and woolen mills as 
well as grown persons and cost their employers but half as 
much. Profits increased where child labor was employed 
and the poverty and avarice of parents kept the demand 
supplied. At one time forty per cent, of the cotton and 
woolen mill operatives of the country were under seventeen 
— many of tiiem as young as ten. Not only were they de- 
prived of schooling, but stunted in growth and weakened 
for life. Much of the crime of mill communities was 
traceable to the evil ideas obtained by children of "tender 
years" in the factories. 

Woman suffrage. — B}^ 1850 women had gained a place 
in the economic system. More than a hundred industrial 
pursuits were open to them and by a general strike they 
could close the doors of many mills and factories. Some of 
their number had been demanding political equality for 

years. Frances 
Wright, in 1824, 
made a plea for 
"universal suf- 
frage," along 
with that for 
betterment of 
conditions for 
the laboring 
classes. At first 
their efforts 

A u' 1 /- . .1 Air . rnet with jeers 

An narly Cartoon on the Women .s . . •' 

Rights Movement and ridicule. 




A QUARTER OF A CENTURY OF PROGRESS 26S 

They were informed that they ought to be at home instead 
of on the platform, and that for women to "mix in poHtics" 
was unthinkable. But by 1848 the advocates of woman 
suffrage were sufficiently numerous and widely scattered to 
warrant the holding of a national convention. This con- 
vention met at Seneca Falls, New York, and in addition to 
the women many men were in attendance, including William 
Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips and other abolitionist 
leaders. It was logical for the woman suffrage leaders to 
endorse abolition of slavery in the hope that freedom for 
the negroes would be accompanied by universal suffrage. 
On account of this attitude the movement naturally received 
little consideration in the South in its early days. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. Write in your note-book a statement indicating the several 

acquisitions of territory between 1789 and 1850. Note growth 
in area, wealth and population. To what was this wonderful 
growth due ? 

2. What kind of citizens did the Irish and German immigrants 

make? Why did they come to the United States? Where did 
they locate? Why? Were the motives which prompted the 
Irish and German migrations in the nineteenth century similar 
to the motives which caused so many Englishmen (Puritans 
and Cavaliers) to leave England in the seventeenth century to 
find homes in America? If not, what was the difference? 

3. What caused the rapid growth of cities? What problems came 

with the growth of cities? How did the cities solve these 
problems? Compare a modern city with one in 1850 as to 
lighting, water, etc. Give some reasons of your own for the 
growth of cities. 

4. What part did the United States take in the great Industrial 

Revolution? Name some of our great inventions. What is 
meant by the factory system of manufacturing? How does 
this differ from the domestic system of manufacturing? 
What is meant by "division of labor"? 

5. What effect did rapid transportation have on the development 

of our country? Write in your note-book a list of inventions 
which promoted industry and improved transportation. 



366 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

6. What did labor do to protect itself against capital? What are 

labor unions? Are they desirable? What is a strike? 

7. What causes influenced the rapid development of public educa- 

tion? Why was public education violently opposed? Do you 
think the state should educate its citizens or should that work 
be left to private individuals? Give reason for your answer. 
What is meant by illiteracy? Why was the development of 
public education slow in the South? 

8. Name some early American writers. What did they write? 

Which of their works have you read? Of what benefit are 
newspapers and magazines In the development of a country? 

9. What was the "Reform Movement"? Compare the former 

method with our present method of dealing with (a) crimi- 
nals, (b) debtors, (c) the insane, (d) intemperance, (e) child 
labor, (f) woman suffrage. 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. Causes afifecting foreign immigration. 

2. The development of manufacturing in New England. 

3. Important inventions : cotton-gin, steam engine, steamboat, 

steamship, sewing machine, reaper, telegraph. 

REFERENCES 

1. Thompson's History of the United States, P olitical-Industrial- 

Social, pp. 148-158, 171-178, 180-196, 198-230. Note. Thomp- 
son's text should be in the hands of every teacher for the 
period covered by this chapter. 

2. Mowry's American Inventions and Inventors. 



A Prairie Plow 
Compare this with the colonial plow on page 135 



CHyVPTER XXVIir 

THE DEMOCRATS ONCE MORE IN POWER 

Franklin Pierce, President, 1833-18^/ 
James Buchanan, President, i8jy-i86i 

Franklin Pierce elected president. — In their platforms 
for the election of 1852 both \\ higs and Democrats en- 
dorsed the Omnibus Bill as a permanent adjustment of the 
slavery dispute. The Free-Soilers, however, still agitated 
the question and put forward John P. Hale, of New Hamp- 
shire, as their candidate for the presidency. General Win- 
field Scott became the Whig standard bearer and Franklin 
Pierce, of New Hampshire, was the <:hoice of the Demo- 
crats. From the start the Whigs were handicapped, for 
since the death of Clay and Webster they had been without 
strong leaders. General Scott, their candidate, had come 
into national prominence solely through his military record 
made in a war generally denounced by the North and West. 
Moreover, many Free-Soil Democrats who had voted the 
ticket in 1848 now came back to their old party. After a 
campaign of petty personalities, Pierce carried all but four 
states. 

Ambitions of the new president. — The new president 
desired to eliminate discord and unite all sections in the 
cause of national progress. He had three distinct ambitions 
— to build a railroad to the Pacific coast, to acquire Cuba 
from Spain and to expand American commerce. Early in 
his administration the Gadsden Purchase was made, and 
surveyors were set to work under the direction of the secre- 

367 



368 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

tary of war, Jefferson Davis, to lay out a route for the 
projected railroad. Much against the wishes of eastern 
Democrats an effort was made to purchase Cuba from 
Spain, but so badly was it managed that the two coun- 
tries w^ere nearly embroiled in war. While the matter was 
pending the ministers to Great Britain, France and Spain 
met at Ostend, a popular watering place on the coast of 
Belgium, to confer on the question. They drew up and 
signed jointly a public statement, since known as the "Ostend 
Manifesto," that "Cuba ought to belong to the United 
States," and should Spain refuse to sell it, the country could 
acquire the island by force. This "Manifesto" was severely 
condemned in the United States and helped to prevent the 
president from realizing his Cuban ambition. 

As an aid to commerce more subsidies were granted to 
steamship companies. In 1853 an expedition was sent to 
the Pacific to undertake to establish trade relations with the 
"hermit kingdom" of Japan, which had never opened its 
ports to European commerce. Commodore Matthew C. 
Perry, brother of the victor of the battle of Lake Erie, 
with an American squadron, sailed into the harbor of what 
is now Tokyo, and by the exercise of much tact overcame 
Japanese desire for isolation. The next spring Perry made 
a treaty establishing friendly relations between the two na- 
tions. Immediately a rich trade sprang up with the Jap- 
anese and their country entered upon an era of develop- 
ment which has made it one of the most prosperous nations 
in the world. 

The Kansas-Nebraska Act. — In January, 1854, contro- 
versy over the slavery question broke out again in Congress. 
Senator Stephen A. Douglas, the "Little Giant" of Illinois, 
introduced a bill which came to be known as the "Kansas- 
Nebraska Act." This measure provided for dividing what 
was left of the Louisiana Purchase into two territories, 
Kansas and Nebraska. It also established "squatter sov- 



THE DEMOCRATS ONCE MORE IN POWER 369 

ereignty" throughout the whole of the vast area, by stip- 
ulating that "all questions pertaining to slavery in the terri- 
tories and the new states to be formed therefrom are to be 
left to the decision of the whole people residing therein." 
Migration westward was filling up this region so rapidly 
that government of some kind was imperative. By the 
terms of the Missouri Compromise, slavery was forbidden, 
since all of it lay north of the parallel of 36° 30', but 
Douglas believed that act had been superseded by the Omni- 
bus Bill. 

Anti-slavery Democrats condemn Douglas, — The wrath 
of the anti-slavery Democrats toward Senator Douglas 
knew no bounds. He was accused of selling out party 
principles for southern support in his ambition to receive 
the nomination for the presidency in 1856. Popular in- 
dignation vented itself freely in public gatherings. Doug- 
las was burned in effigy so frequently that he said he could 
travel all the way from Washington to Chicago by the light 
of the bonfires. The South had taken no part in formulating 
Douglas's measure but naturally supported it, since the idea 
of popular sovereignty agreed with their contention that 
Congress had no right to forbid slavery in any part of the 
national domain. 

How the Kansas-Nebraska Act was received. — The 
passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act was celebrated by 
the firing of cannon in Washington and southern cities 
generally, but with the tolling of funeral bells in the North. 
Now, excepting only Washington and Oregon, all the terri- 
tories of the United States might become slave states 
through popular sovereignty. Henceforth, extension of 
slavery would hinge on the relative ability of the North and 
South to efi^ect settlement. 

Bleeding Kansas. — To abolitionist and slaveholder 
alike, Kansas was now a battle-ground where majorities 
would win 'the fight, and the race for settlement began. 



370 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



Slaveholders hastened to move across the Missouri and 
form settlements on the rich lands along its western bank. 
To oppose them, lowans, too, crossed over and an Emigrant 
Aid Society was formed in Massachusetts to aid those will- 
ing to move to Kansas. Before long much of the country 

south of the 
Kansas River 
was occupied by 
a distinctly 
"free-state" 
population. ]\Ien 
of both factions 
went about their 
business heavily 
armed and con- 
stantly on the 
lookout for 
trouble. 

The pro-slav- 
ery forces won 
the election of 
1855, with the result that the first act of the legislature 
legalized the holding of slaves and made assisting them to 
escape a crime punishable by death. The anti-slavery resi- 
dents would not submit to this and proceeded to hold a con- 
vention and adopt a state constitution. Then, following the 
California precedent, they applied for admission to the 
Union as a free state. Meanwhile, two rival governments 
were established and civil war broke out between their ad- 
herents. Bands of "Border Ruffians" and "Black Repub- 
licans" raided the homes of their opponents, killing and 
burning far and wide. A party of men, headed by a pro- 
slavery sheriff, set fire to buildings in Lawrence, the anti- 
slavery capital, and to avenge this John Brown, an abolition- 
ist, aided by his sons and neighbors, killed five pro-slavery 




Early Days in Kansas 

Notice the gun strapped to the rider's back and the 

ulil "cable" ferry at the left of the building 



THE DEMOCRATS OX'CE MORE IX POWER 371 




United States Troops Dispersing a Constitutional 
Convention in Kansas 



men on the Pottawatomie Creek. Brown justified this mur- 
der by saying: "I have no choice. It has been decreed by 
Almighty God." 

Two years of turmoil for the whole country followed, 
until at last United States troops quelled the disorder. In 
the meantime popular sovereignty had sent two rival con- 
stitutions to Congress for it to choose between, and once 
more the Federal Government was involved in the slavery 
tangle. The president and Senate favored the pro-slavery 
faction, but the House of Representatives was strongly op- 
posed. Senator Robert W. Toombs, of Georgia, offered a 
fair compromise which was rejected and Kansas remained 
a territory until 1861, when it was admitted as a free state. 

The Republican party comes into existence. — A break- 
ing up of the old parties followed the enactment of the Kan- 
sas-Nebraska Bill. Southern Whigs, in distrust of their 
party, went over to the Democrats. Northern Democrats, 



372 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

indignant over the "Kansas Crime," united with the Free- 
Soilers and anti-slavery Whigs to form a new party, called 
at first "The Anti-Nebraska" but soon known as the Re- 
publican. The Wilmot Proviso became its corner-stone and 
"No More Slave States" its battle cry. In the congressional 
elections of 1854 the Republicans almost gained control of 
the House of Representatives. By joining with some of 
the Whigs and the "Know Nothings" they were able to de- 
feat the admission of Kansas. 

The presidential election of 1856. — In 1856 the Repub- 
licans nominated General John C. Fremont, the "Path- 
finder," for the presidency. As their candidate, the Demo- 
crats selected James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania. This 




Distribution of Electoral Votes in the Election of 1856 

election showed that the parties were splitting into distinctly 
northern and southern organizations. Though defeated, 
Fremont carried all the Northern States except four ; 
Buchanan all those holding slaves but one. Throughout 
the campaign the Republicans insisted that Congress not 
only had a right to exclude slavery from the territories, but 
ought to do it, while the Democrats stood boldly for popular 
sovereignty. 



THE DEMOCRATS ONCE MORE IN POWER 2,7Z 

The Dred Scott decision. — In the opinion of many, a 
slave secured his freedom when brought into a free state 
by his owner. Dred Scott had been taken by his master, a 
Missouri army officer, to IlHnois and thence to Minnesota. 
Ten years after he was brought back to Missouri, Scott 
brought suit for his freedom. The Saint Louis County 
Court decided in his favor but the case eventually reached 
the Supreme Court of the United States. In a decision 
written by Chief Justice Roger P. Taney, this court held : 

(1) Slaves, or negroes descended from slaves, were not 
citizens and therefore could not sue in the courts. 

(2) Slaves, like cattle, horses, and other property, could 
be taken into any part of the United States at the will of 
their owners. 

(3) The Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional, as 
Congress had no right to forbid slavery in the territories. 

This decision sustained southern opinion in the wrangle 
over the Kansas-Nebraska Bill and aimed to silence the Re- 
publican party by declaring unconstitutional the doctrine 
around which it had been organized. The Republicans, 
however, instead of being silenced, declared that the deci- 
sion had been drawn in the interest' of politics, made much 
of the opinions of the dissenting judges and proceeded with 
their plans to control the next election. 

The Lincoln-Douglas debates. — In 1858 Illinois had a 
memorable campaign for the office of United States sen- 
ator. The candidates were Stephen A. Douglas, author of 
the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and Abraham Lincoln, an obscure 
country lawyer. As senators were chosen by the state legis- 
latures, candidates usually "stumped" the state to assist in 
electing legislators favorable to themselves. Lincoln was 
strongly opposed to any extension of slavery by popular sov- 
ereignty or otherwise, and challenged Douglas to discuss 
that doctrine with him in joint debates. 



374 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



In popular opinion Douglas had a decided advantage, for 
he was reputed the most skilful debater in Congress. Be- 
sides, he enjoyed the prestige of being a national character, 
while Lincoln was scarcely known outside of Illinois. Per- 
sons came from far and near to hear the debates and many 




A Scene during One of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates 

actually followed the debaters from place to place. Lincoln 
demanded that the senator explain how the people of a ter- 
ritory could exclude slavery when by the Dred Scott de- 
cision Congress, conceded as supreme in the territories, 
could not interfere with it in any way. Driven to the wall 
by the question, Douglas was forced to fall back on the 
theory of "unfriendly legislation." By his adversary's 
adroitness the "Little Giant" had been compelled to choose 



THE DEMOCRATS ONXE MORE IN POWER 375 

between pleasing the people of Illinois and pleasing those of 
the South. By his answer he won the election to the United 
States Senate but lost the support of the South in his presi- 
dential aspirations. The skill Lincoln displayed in these de- 
bates had suddenly elevated the unknown Illinois lawyer to 
the leadership of the Republican party. 

New states and territories. — \\'hen California was ad- 
mitted to the Union the balance that had been preserved be- 
tween free states and slave was broken forever. There 
were now sixteen free states to fifteen slave. One reason 
the North had opposed so violently the Kansas-Nebraska 
Act Avas because she knew northern preponderance of 
])ower in the Senate would be lost if Kansas should become 
a slave state. When Minnesota entered the Union in 1858. 
and Oregon the next year, the South saw there was no pos- 
sibility of the old balance ever being restored. There were 
now thirty-three states and live territories — Kansas, Ne- 
1)raska, Washington, New Mexico and Utah. 

The Mormons migrate to Utah. — While the eyes of 
the country had been focused on Kansas, Utah, too, had 
been passing through stirring times. In 1847, led by their 
])resident, Brigham Young, a small band of Mormons had 
crossed the Rockies to seek new homes in the wilderness 
where they might live and worshij) as they saw fit. These 
Mormons belonged 
to a sect called the )>'^<.'e'^^iC^Gc/\f^j)(i\'^?U$l,^h,nh^^ 

-Church of the Lat- ^^^^^^^^^^ Ss>tMi^ci^t^^,.metibmi:3i, 
ter Day Saints of 

Jesus Christ," organ- ;^^ v^Mjf t'.7e/£ ci 7it;im^A^i'f^>=,- 

ized in New York in Facsimile of an Inscription Claimed to 

1830. Joseph Smith. ^"^^^''^ Been Copied from One of Smith's 

. . , . Golden Tablets 
Its founder, claimed 

to have received from an angel divine revelation and some 
golden tablets from which latter he translated the Book of 
Mormon. This book, which the Mormons hold sacred, pur- 



n(, OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

ports to be a history of ancient America, beginning at a 
time not long after the fall of the Tower of Babel and com- 
ing down to the extermination of the ancient Mormons by 
the Indians. Driven west by the intolerance of their neigh- 
bors in Ohio — their early location — the Mormons settled in 
Missouri, whence they had to flee to Illinois. There, on the 
banks of the Mississippi, a prosperous city, Nauvoo, was 
built by their industry and there the practise of plural mar- 
riages, or polygamy, was instituted. Soon they were once 
more in trouble with their neighbors and the "Prophet," as 
Joseph Smith was called, and his brother were arrested for 
treason and taken to Carthage. During the night, with the 
connivance of their jailers, a mob broke into the jail and 
murdered them (1844). To escape further molestation the 
Mormons left Nauvoo and joined the western migration. 
Settling in the desert regions of the Great Salt Lake Basin, 
under their skilful methods of irrigation and agriculture, 
these arid plains literally "blossomed as the rose." As the 
overland route to the gold mines led by way of their settle- 
ments the Latter Day Saints profited greatly from the sale 
of supplies to persons en route to California and Oregon, 
and Utah grew rapidly. When the territory was organized 
in 1850 their leader, Brigham Young, was appointed gov- 
ernor. The Mormons became involved in so many difficul- 
ties with some of the California emigrants that President 
Buchanan decided to appoint a new governor. So incensed 
were they by this action that a military force had to be des- 
patched to Utah to assist in upholding the authority of the 
United States, and it was not until 1860 that peace was 
fully restored. 

Two great discoveries. — During Buchanan's adminis- 
tration two great discoveries were made which were destined 
to increase greatly the wealth of the country. While the Lin- 
coln-Douglas debates were in progress a party of miners 
found gold in a creek near the present Denver, Colorado. 



THE DEMOCRATS ONCE MORE IN POWER 



ZTJ 



Another gold rush similar to that of the "Forty-Niners" 
peopled the Pike's Peak country with adventurers and for- 
tune hunters. 

The first oil well in the United States was tapped near 
Titusville, Pennsyl- 
vania, in 1859. Nine 
years before, oil dis- 
tilled from coal had 
been placed on the 
market at one dollar 
a gallon. When it 
was found that pe- 
troleum in large 
quantities could be 
obtained by sinking 
wells, there was a 
great rush to the 
"oil fields." Wells 
and refineries multi- 
plied throughout 
western Pennsyl- 
vania, Ohio and Indiana, and soon large quantities of satis- 
factory low-priced illuminating oil were being produced. 

John Brown's raid. — When law and order were re- 
established in Kansas, John Brown, the Pottawatomie mur- 
derer, removed to Harper's Ferry, Virginia. Here, with 
the aid of money supplied by abolitionists, Brown planned 
a negro insurrection. One dark night in October, 1859, he 
and his eighteen followers seized the government arsenal 
and arrested several prominent persons to be held as hos- 
tages. The outlaws then barricaded themselves within an 
old engine house and fought the citizens and militia for 
two days. Finally, Colonel Robert E. Lee, with two com- 
panies of United States Marines, arrived on the scene and 
captured Brown and those of his companions who had not 




Drake's Original Oil Well at Titus- 
ville, Pennsylvania 



378 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

been killed. After a speedy but orderly trial for murder and 
treason the outlaws were sentenced to be hanged. Although 
in the North this lawless act was not generally upheld, in 
the eyes of the abolitionists, who were given to justifying 
means by ends, the execution of John Brown made him a 
martyr. In the South the thought of a terrible negro up- 
rising so narrowly averted brought home the great danger 
which threatened the southern people when fanatics would 
resort to such villainous methods. John Brown's raid was 
important solely because the bitter feeling it engendered 
brought the country one step nearer to the "partmg of 
the ways." 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. What were the three principal things President Franklin Pierce 

hoped to accomplish in his administration? Did he succeed? 
What was the "Ostend Manifesto"? Write in your note-book 
the story of the way in which the United States began to 
trade with Japan. 

2. Write in your note-book the provisions of the "Kansas-Nebraska 

Act." It has been said that the Kansas-Nebraska Act was 
"the most momentous piece of legislation in the United States 
before the Civil War." Find reasons in your text-book or 
elsewhere for this statement, and write them in your note- 
book. What was meant by the doctrine of "squatter sov- 
ereignty"? Did the Kansas-Nebraska Act repeal the Missouri 
Compromise? If so, how? Senator Stephen A. Douglas be- 
lieved that the Missouri Compromise had been superseded by 
the Compromise of 1850. Was this true? 

3. What was meant by "bleeding Kansas" ? In what year was 

Kansas admitted as a state? Did Kansas come into the Union 
as a free state or as a slave state? 

4. Write a narrative in your note-book showing the steps which 

led to the organization of the Republican party. Who com- 
posed this party? What important party did it supplant? 
What was its doctrine on the question of the extension of 
slavery into new territory? What was the position of the 
party on the question of the existence of slavery in the old 
states ? 



THE DEMOCRATS ONCE MORE IN POWER ^7^) 

5. What was the "Dred Scott" decision? What was its effect on 

the RepubHcan party ? W'as this decision ever nulHfied ? 

6. What did Senator Douglas gain from the series of joint debates 

he held with Abraham Lincoln ? What did he lose ? What 
did Lincoln gain from these debates? What were some of the 
points of difference in the position each debater took on the 
question of the extension of slavery? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. The Mormons and the settlement of Utah. 

2. John Brown's raid and the "Parting of the Ways." 

3. The sectional struggle to secure control of Kansas. 

REFERENCES 

1. Elson's Side Lights on American History, Vol. I, Chapters XV 

and XVL 

2. Wilson's Division and Reunion, pp. 182-188, 197-204. 
^. Spark's The Men IVho Made the Nation, pp. 378-390. 

The Nation Expands Westward and Slavery Splits 
It in Twain 

I. Jackson's Administr.vtions Mark a New Epoch in Ameri- 
can History. 
■ .\. Jackson's unique personality. 

B. A new political party with new political methods. 

C. New standards set at the White House. 

D. New methods of travel and communication. 

E. New industrial methods. 

F. Tarifif legislation. 

1. Nullification. 

G. Jackson destroys the National Bank. 

1. The panic of 1837. 
n. The Rise of the Whig P.\rty and the Annexation of 
Texas. 

A. The presidential campaign of 1840. 

B. Death of Harrison. 

C. Tyler breaks with his party. 

D. Texas struggles for independence from Me.xicn. 
v.. The annexation of Texas to the United States. 



380 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

III. Expansion Westward. 

A. Oregon, Utah, California and Texas. 

B. Fremont's explorations. 

C. The dispute over the Oregon boundary. 

D. Dispute over Texas boundary. 

E. War with Mexico. 

1. Taylor invades Mexico from the north. 

2. Scott marches upon Mexico City from Vera Cruz. 

F. The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. 

IV. The Great Territorial Acquisition as a Result of thk 
Mexican War. 

A. The discovery of gold in California and the great rush of 
gold seekers. 

B. The reappearance of the slavery question when California 
sought admission to the Union. 

1. The compromise of 1850. 

2. The Fugitive Slave Law. 

3. Personal liberty laws. 

4. The underground railway organized. 

5. Uncle Tom's Cabin. 

V. A Quarter of a Century of Progress. 

A. Increase in population. 

B. The development of cities. 

C. Important inventions and discoveries. 

D. The increase in railroad building. 

1. Land grants and money bonuses aided the movement. 

E. Improvement in ocean transportation and communication. 

F. Educational facilities multiplied. 

G. Gold discovered near Denver. 

H. First oil well tapped in Pennsylvania in 1859. 
\'I. The Democrats Once More in Power. 

A. The struggle over the extension of slavery into the terri- 
tories. 

1. The Kansas-Nebraska Act. 

2. The Dred Scott Decision. 

3. John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry. 

4. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates. 



CHAPTER XXIX 
THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 

Abraham Lincoln, President, 1861-186^ 

Lincoln elected president. — In April, 1860, the Demo- 
cratic Convention met at Charleston to nominate candi- 
dates and agree on a platform. The northern delegates sup- 
ported Senator Douglas for the presidency and insisted on 
endorsing popular sovereignty once more. The southern 
delegates would not agree to either candidate or doctrine. 
Several state delegations withdrew and finally the Conven- 
tion adjourned to meet later at Baltimore. Here the party 
split into two distinct factions. The "Moderate Democrats" 




A Cartoon of the Day Showing the Dilemma of the 
Democratic Party in 1860 



nominated Douglas and stood for popular sovereignty ; 
the "Pro-Slavery" chose John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, 
and demanded that Congress protect slavery in all parts of 

381 



382 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

the public domain. The RepubHcan Convention at Chicago 
selected Abraham Lincoln as its standard bearer. It adopted 
a platform opposed to slavery in the territories. To secure 
the support of the manufacturing element in the East it 
promised to enact a high protective tariff in place of the low 
one passed by the Democrats three years before. As a bid 
for the western farmer vote, the Republicans pledged them- 
selves to re-enact the "Free Homestead Law" vetoed by* 
President Buchanan. The few remaining Whigs reor- 
ganized under the name of the "Constitutional Union" party 
and nominated John C. Bell, of Kentucky. In their plat- 
form they ignored the slavery question but opposed 
secession. 

In the election the popular vote was distributed among 
the four candidates as follows : 

Lincoln 1,866,542 

Douglas 1,375,157 

Breckinridge 847.953 

Bell 590,631 

The electoral vote was divided thus : Lincoln 180, Doug- 
las 12, Breckinridge 72, and Bell 39. Lincoln, having re- 
ceived the electoral vote of all the Northern and Pacific 
States, which was more than a majority, was elected, al- 
though he had received considerably less than half of the 
popular vote. Douglas received the electoral vote of only 
two states, Missouri and New Jersey. Bell received the 
electoral vote of three states, Virginia, Tennessee and Ken- 
tucky, and Breckinridge carried all the other Southern 
States. 

South Carolina secedes. — The South believed that the 
Republican party was a sectional organization bent on free- 
ing the slaves. When, therefore, it was evident Lincoln 
had been elected she could see no way of preserving her 
rights except by the states withdrawing from the Federal 



THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 



383 



compact. On December 20, 1860, a convention of delegates 
from all parts of South Carolina assembled in Charleston 
and unanimously ^_. 

passed the following CHiRLESTOJV 

"Ordinance of Se- 



MERCURY 



EXTRA: 



cession : 

We, the people of 
the state of South 
Carolina, in conven- 
tion assembled, do 
declare and ordain, 
and it is hereby de- 
clared and ordained, 
that the ordinance 
adopted by us in con- 
vention, on the 23rd 
day of May, in the 
year of our Lord 
1788, whereby the 
Constitution of the 
United States was 
ratified, and also all 
acts and parts of the 
acts of the General 
Assembly of this 
state ratifying 
amendments to the 
said Constitution, are 
hereby repealed ; and 
■that the Union now 
subsisting between 
South Carolina and 
other states under 
the name of the 
United States of 
America is hereby 
dissolved. 

Six other Southern States follow South Carolina. — 

Soon afterward similar ordinances were passed by six 
other states, as follows : 



Patsea unantmousia at 1.15 o'eloek, JP, Jlf~ Beeemhtr 
SO/A, I860. 

JLS ORDIKTANCE 

'To dUtotre Ihe Orion Mieftn lite Statr tif South Caroltna attd 
oilur Slatet tmttfd ttllh htr under Iht eompnet entitled " Tk* 
CoMlUutlon of the CuUed Slalee ej .laieriea." 

Wt^tit PapU cf lU SuOi tf SouX OmiUna, oi CcneaHom aufnMi^Jodttlvtmd cnla>i\and 
tl <3 imbf ikdartd and ffrdamed^ 

TbU tha OriiouM »dopl«d I; u In ConTention. ea Uio twtotj-OiM A»y of Vaj, fa (b* 
jmt of out Lonl oo* thooiud eereo 'bosdnd tai elghlj-otgbl, irbenbj tbe OouUtotioa of tb« 
VoiM BUl«a of Am«ric4 vu oUfled, and alio, til Aau aod patte of Acts of Iba Qooettl 
AimaHj of Ibis Stafa^ aUi^l^ anaadoeiiU of tba aald CooititaUoo, are bonb/ rcptated; 
aod Ibu tbe aalon oow aalelitlss baCnaa Boolb Carolina aad otbv Slalas, lUkler ;b« aana of 
« Iba Vailad EUlas of Aaarlok* is benb; disaolrad. 



THE 

UNION 

DISSOLVED! 

Facsimile of the Charleston Mercury's 

Extra Announcing the Passage of the 

OffJinance of Secession 



384 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

Mississippi, January 9, 1861 .... 84 yeas, 15 nays 

Florida, January 10, 1861 62 yeas, 7 nays 

Alabama, January 11, 1861 61 yeas, 39 nays 

Georgia, January 18, 1861 208 yeas, 89 nays 

Louisiana, January 26, 1861 .... 113 yeas, 17 nays 

Texas, February 1, 1861 166 yeas, 7 nays 

The right of the Southern States to withdraw from the 
Union was defended on the ground that each possessed 
sovereignty. Their view was that the Treaty of Paris had 
been made with them as individual states — not as a Union 
— and neither the Constitution nor the act by which it had 
been ratified had deprived them of the sovereignty granted 
by King George. As sovereign states they insisted that 
they had a legal and moral right to exercise all the privi- 
leges of free and independent nations, and could not law- 
fully be coerced in any way. Moreover, at the time of 
the ratification of the Constitution several states took the 
precaution to proclaim their right to secede. Since then, in 
resolutions of protest against acts of Congress, legislatures 
had frequently maintained this right, even as recently as 
1844 in Massachusetts. That the seceding states were act- 
ing within their legal rights was conceded by many north- 
erners. Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, 
said, "Let the erring sisters go in peace." President Bu- 
chanan, although he doubted their right to secede, was sure 
that he had no constitutional authority to prevent it. 

Organization of the Confederacy. — On February 4, 
1861, delegates from all the seceding states except Texas 
assembled at Montgomery, Alabama, to organize a tempo- 
rary government. In order that there might be no misun- 
derstanding in the future as to the sovereignty of the sev- 
eral states they nam.ed it the Confederate States of America. 
In general, its constitution followed closely that of the 
United States. In the document emphasis was laid on the 



THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 385 

fact that each state was free and independent, and it was 
specifically provided that : 

(1) Congress should never impose a protective tariff. 

(2) Congress should never appropriate money for in- 
ternal improvements, subsidies, etc. 

(3) The institution of negro slavery, as it then existed 
in the Confederate States, should be recognized and en- 
couraged. 

Jefferson Davis, of [Mississippi, was elected president, 
and Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, vice-president. 
Both had been members of the United States Congress when 
their states seceded and were among the twelve senators 
and thirty-one representatives who resigned their seats at 
this time. Montgomery was made the capital of the Con- 
federacy and remained so until the next May, when the seat 
of government was transferred to Richmond. 

Immediately after seceding, the states set about securing 
possession of all government property within their borders, 
as far as this could be accomplished without violence. They 
desired to withdraw in peace and to be able to establish 
friendly relations with the United States, so avoided any 
acts likely to cause annoyance to their neighbors. For this 
reason the postal system was left undisturbed for several 
months. By ]\Iarch 4, 1861, most of the forts, arsenals, 
navy yards and custom houses had been willingly handed 
over to them. 

Attempts at compromise. — The secession of the South- 
ern States was received variously in the North. Some re- 
garded the Confederacy as merely a temporary "blufif" and 
predicted that the seceding states would return of their own 
accord. Those who thus believed were not in favor of con- 
ceding anything to them and would compel their return by 
the use of force, if necessary. Others agreed with Horace 



386 



OUR GOUXTRY'S HISTORY 




I'h.t.i li.ui L'nclerwMi.d & Undenvood 

Jefferson Davis 



THE PARTING OF TTIIC WAYS 387 

Greeley, that the states were actually within their consti- 
tutional rights. The extreme abolitionists, like William 
Lloyd Garrison, were glad that they had taken their de- 
parture. Another element, composed of persons who really 
loved the Union, believed it possible so to amend the Con- 
stitution that all could live together in harmony. In the 
South, especially in the border states of Kentucky and Vir- 
ginia, many leaders stood ready to unite with these northern 
moderates in effecting a compromise. 

Both houses of Congress appointed committees to try to 
adjust the difficulty. Senator Crittenden, of Kentucky, pro- 
posed a compromise reestablishing the parallel of 36° 30' 
as the northern limit for slavery in the territories, and pro- 
viding that as new states were created the question should 
be decided by popular sovereignty. It also stipulated that 
the Federal Government should pay for all slaves escaping 
to the North. This compromise was defeated because on 
the advice of Lincoln the Republicans refused to consider 
any further extension of slave territory. Congress, how- 
ever, did refer to the states a proposed amendment pro- 
viding that the Constitution should never be amended so as 
to abolish or interfere with slavery, but this was ratified by 
only two states, Ohio and Maryland. 

\^irginia had not yet seceded and in an effort to devise 
some plan of compromise she invited the states to send 
delegates to a convention. In response to this call, repre- 
sentatives from twenty-one states met at Washington in 
February, 1861, but none of the seceding states were repre- 
sented and the effort to save the L^nion failed. 

President Lincoln's inauguration. — President Lincoln 
entered office amid threatening hostilities. All government 
property in South Carolina had been surrendered to the 
Confederacy except the forts in Charleston harbor. Since 
they resisted and the state was opposed to violence, no at- 
tempt was made to take them. When the ^^^^shingtnn gov- 



388 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



ernment sent the steamer Star of the West to Charleston 
with suppHes and reinforcements for Tvlajor Anderson, the 
commander of Fort Sumter, this was looked upon as a 
hostile act against the sovereignty of South Carolina. 
Therefore, her militia fired on the vessel and compelled it 
to retire. To avoid further difficulty the new Confederate 
Government sent a commission to Washington to confer 
with President Buchanan on the peaceable surrender of such 




Abraham Lincoln 



THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 389 

property within the seceding states as still remained under 
the jurisdiction of the United States. To receive this com- 
mission would have been a recognition of the Confederate 
States as a nation, and the Cabinet, composed largely of 
northern men, so strongly opposed it that the president 
yielded, and refused to confer with the southerners. 

So bitter was the feeling of many northerners toward 
Lincoln that he had to change his plans and "slip" into the 
capital by night on a special train for fear of being assassi- 
nated on the way. Guarded by United States troops, 
brought to Washington for the purpose, Lincoln took the 
oath of office and delivered his inaugural address, stating 
his policy definitely. He asserted his opinion that the 
Union was perpetual and that no state could lawfully with- 
draw from it. He stated that it was not his intention "di- 
rectly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of 
slavery in the states where it existed." He declared that he 
expected to execute the laws of the United States in all 
the states and to "hold, occupy and possess the property 
and places belonging to the government, and collect the 
duties and imposts." Lincoln knew the seceding states had 
but two alternatives — abject surrender or war to maintain 
what they believed to be their rights — and that as true sons 
of America they would undoubtedly choose the latter. He 
therefore tried to throw on them responsibility for what- 
ever bloodshed might follow, by saying, "In your hands, my 
dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the mo- 
mentous issue of civil war." 

The capture of Fort Sumter. — Hostilities were de- 
layed for about a month, and leaders on both sides believed 
that the other would not fight after all. Late in March, 
President Lincoln received word from Major Anderson 
that he could not hold out much longer unless supplies were 
sent him. Thereupon the president notified the governor of 
South Carolina of his intention to send relief to Fort Sum- 



390 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



ter and ordered a strong fleet to be despatched to Charles- 
ton. The Confederate States were compelled to regard this 
as an act of war. As South Carolina was already in posses- 
sion of Fort Moultrie and had erected strong batteries cov- 
ering Fort Sumter, on April 11. 1861, by order of President 




Firing on Fort Sumter 



I'roni an old print 



Davis, General P. T. Beauregard demanded the surrender 
of the island fortress. This was refused and the next morn- 
ing the bombardment of Fort Sumter began. Although 
the fleet sent to its relief was just outside the harbor, it 
failed to enter and take part in the battle. 

On the afternoon of April fourteenth, after the walls of 
the fort had been badly battered and fires had broken out in 



THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 391 

the barracks, JNIajor Anderson marched out his Httle band of 
one hundred twenty-eight men and surrendered the place. 
General Beauregard raised the Confederate "Stars and 
Bars" over the ruins and the first battle of the War of 
Secession was ended. Neither side lost a man, but the 
prophecy of Robert Toombs, Secretary of State in President 
Davis's Cabinet, was to come true. "The firing on that fort 
will inaugurate a civil war greater than any the world has 
yet seen." 

The two governments prepare for war. — The next 
morning after the fall of Fort Sumter President Lincoln 
issued a call for seventy-five thousand volunteers to put 
down "an insurrection." Expecting northern armies to at- 
tempt to overrun the seceding states and set their slaves 
free, President Davis called for volunteers to defend the 
soil of the Southern States from invasion by forces bent on 
their ruin. Lincoln's call went to all states, North and 
South alike. Confronted by this situation, Virginia, by a 
vote of 88 to 55, decided to join the Confederacy (April 
seventeenth). Soon after, Arkansas, North Carolina and 
Tennessee did the same, as follows : 

Arkansas. May 6, 1861 89 yeas, 1 nay 

North Carolina, May 21, 1861 LInanimously 

Tennessee, June 8, 1861 Unanimously 

Four border states remain in the Union. — In the bor- 
tler states of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Mis- 
souri, sentiment was divided. While thousands of the best 
citizens sympathized with the Confederacy, the rapid as- 
sembling of federal troops there enabled the Unionists 
to control the legislatures. Delaware, which from the start 
had been lukewarm toward the Confederacy, aligned her- 
self definitely on the side of the United States. Li Mary- 
land a collision occurred between the citizens of Baltimore 
and Massachusetts troops on their way to the defense of 



392 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



Washington, in which several persons were killed. Union 
and Confederate troops clashed in Missouri and Kentucky. 
At first success was with the South, but in the face of su- 
perior numbers these states finally had to be abandoned by 
the Confederacy. Not allowed to remain neutral, as they 
desired, they were forced to join the Union side, though 
thousands of their citizens fought under the stars and 
bars. 

Southern mountaineers oppose secession. — The people 
of the valleys of western Virginia and North Carolina 

and eastern Tennessee 

5 ,0 ,5 20 25 30 3S« 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 .00 |^^^ nCVCr OWncd ttiaUy 

slaves and had differed 
with their states on 
most national ques- 
tions. Now they were 
opposed to secession. 
In Virginia forty-three 
western counties re- 
fused to be bound by 
the act of secession 
and elected officials claiming to be the legal authorities of 
that state. Congress recognized this government and al- 
lowed its senators and representatives to occupy the seats 
belonging to Virginia. Unable to spare troops to put down 
the rebellion eastern Virginia was compelled to allow them 
to defy the state's authority. 

North and South respond alike to the call for volun- 
teers. — The call for volunteers met with quick response 
and thousands rallied to the support of their respective gov- 
ernments. Many were youths not over sixteen years of age. 
Neither North nor South thought the conflict would last 
more than a few months. President Davis believed north- 
ern resistance would crumble as 'soon as southern armies 
carried the war to the jrreat cities of the North. President 









- 




- 














■ 
















VIRGINIA 








1 


1 














NCAROUNA 
SCAROUNi 








' 












" 










" 






















KENTUCKY 




■ I 




I 












TtNNtSStS 




__ 
■ I 




1 


OTHER 
STATES 




I 







Percentage of Southern Families 
Owning Slaves in 1850 



THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 393 

Lincoln expected to capture Richmond and thus shatter the 
Confederacy at one blow. 

Relative strength of the belligerents. — The advantage 
was with the North, which had a population of twenty-two 
million against nine million in the South, many of whom 
were slaves. Before the war closed the North armed more 
soldiers than there were white males in the South when it 
began. Military age in the North was from eighteen to 
forty years, and it had twice the required number of eligible 
men. The South had to enlist nine-tenths of all its males 
between the ages of seventeen and sixty. Most of the fac- 
tories needed to arm and equip armies were in the North. 
Possessing but one cannon foundry and two powder mills at 
the start, the Confederacy had to depend for nearly three 
years on England and France for its ammunition. The 
wealth of the South was largely invested in lands and 
slaves and there was little ready money. In order to secure 
funds to pay for their supplies it was necessary to ship car- 
goes of cotton, rice and tobacco to Europe. The North, on 
the other hand, had vast sums invested in stocks and bonds, 
against which large loans of European gold could be se- 
cured. 

Before the war the South had not raised enough food to 
supply its own needs and had imported large quantities from 
the North and from abroad. Now it must feed itself from 
the labor of the slaves, unaccustomed to raising such crops 
and equipped with old-fashioned implements. It had no 
navy and few trained sailors. However, at the start the 
North was not much bettei- ofif, for most of its vessels had 
been sent on long cruises and were, therefore, not available 
for immediate use. In its shipyards, however, it was soon 
able to convert enough of its many merchantmen into vessels 
suitable for maintaining a blockade of southern ports until 
the regular vessels could be recalled and new fighting craft 
constructed. 



394 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

Advantages possessed by the Confederacy. — The Con- 
federacy had the advantage of a president who, trained as 
a soldier, had served through the Mexican War and as sec- 
retary of war under President Pierce. Lincoln, on the other 
hand, had had practically no military experience. One- 
fourth of the best officers in the United States army and 
navy had entered the service of the Confederacy, and be- 
sides, as the fighting took place on southern soil, they could 
choose the best positions for defense. Finally, the south- 
erners were fighting for their homes and everything which 
was dear, and such soldiers are always difficult to defeat. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. Explain how Lincoln was elected in 1860 though he received 

only one-third of the popular vote. 

2. What is meant by secession? What other states before 1860 

had threatened to secede? Is it true then that the doctrine of 
secession originated in the South ? 

3. Find out about the secession convention in your state. Was the 

ordinance severing the relations with the Union passed unani- 
mously? 

4. Do yott think that war might have been prevented if Buchanan 

had been firm and resolute and acted as Andrew Jackson did 
in 1832? Why did Buchanan act as he did? 

5. Read the Confederate Constitution. Are there any clauses in it 

that are really an improvement over the Federal Constitution ? 

6. Describe the attempts to compromise after secession was imder 

wa\'. 

7. Compare the relative strength of the two belligerents, bringing 

out the points of advantage that each had over the other. 

8. Describe the bombardment of Fort Sumter. What was the 

result? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. The Republican Convention of 1860. 

2. The adoption of the Ordinance of Secession in j-our state. 

REFERENCES 

1. Southworth's Builders of Our Country. Book II, Chapter XXIII. 

2. Rlson's Side Lights on American History, Vo\. IT, Chapters T-IV. 



CHAPTER XXX 
THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THE WAR 

How it was planned to win the war. — Early in the war 
both governments adopted definite plans for bringing it to 
a successful conclusion. The logical objective of the Con- 
federates was the capital city, and at first the North was 
much alarmed lest they might attack it before troops could 
be rushed to its defense. By the time Virginia had seceded 
and the Confederacy was ready to strike at Washington, 
Federal forces had been mobilized on the banks of the 
Potomac sufficient to insure the safety of the city for a time. 

With its lesser resources the Confederacy adopted a de- 
fensive policy in order to utilize its advantages to the limit. 
As soon as this became evident, the Federal Government 
determined upon a strong ofifensive along four distinct lines: 

(1) Restraining the border states from joining the Con- 
federacy by stationing Federal troops in them. 

(2) A blockade of southern ports so as to prevent the 
shipment of cotton to Europe and importation of munitions. 

(3) The capture of Richmond. 

(4) Driving a wedge by way of the Mississippi Valley 
through the heart of the Confederacy and thus preventing 
the Western States from aiding those east of the river. 

We have already seen how the Federals not only suc- 
ceeded in holding all the border states, but in addition, by 
despatching a strong force to western Virginia, encouraged 
the people of that section to rebel against their state. We 
shall now follow them in their efforts to carry out the rest 
of their plan for subduing the Confederacy, and see how 

395 



396 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




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Scale of miles 



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The War Area in Northern Virginia 



frequently defeat threatened, because of the superior abihty 
of southern generals and the unsurpassed valor of the 
"boys in gray," a name given southern soldiers because of 
the color of their uniform. 




THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THE WAR 397 

The battle of Manassas. — Encouraged by the successes 
in Kentucky and western Virginia, the northern people and 
press began to raise the cry, "On to Richmond." The Con- 
federates were holding most of north- 
ern Virginia, and General Beauregard 
had a force of eighteen thousand men 
posted along Bull Run Creek, not far 
from Manassas Junction, a railway sta- 
tion thirty miles south of Washington. 
By the time General McDowell, who 
was in charge of the defense of Wash- ''•'^^^^'"" 
ington, had assembled an army of forty p q 'p Beaureo-ard 
thousand, the demand for an attack on 

Beauregard was too strong to be resisted. On Sunday, July 
21, 1861, McDowell moved south and engaged the Confed- 
erates. At first their lines wavered and a northern victory 
seemed assured. General Bernard E. Bee's troops had be- 
gun to fall back when suddenly their commander called out : 
"Look at Jackson's brigade. It stands like a stone wall." 
Cheered by the sight of General Thomas J. Jackson's sol- 
diers calmly holding their ground with ranks unbroken, 
Bee's men turned and fell so fiercely upon the Federals that 
the northern lines crumpled like paper, and before their in- 
experienced officers could check them the "Yankees" were in 
full retreat for the protection of the Washington defenses. 
When news of this disaster reached the capital city it was 
thrown into a panic in expectation that the Confederates 
would make an immediate attack. 

This terrible defeat, which cost them over three thousand 
casualties, aroused the North to an appreciation of the 
seriousness of the war. Congress at once authorized the en- 
listment of five hundred thousand additional soldiers and 
appropriated five hundred million dollars to equip the army 
and navy. General George B. McClellan, who had been so 
successful in western Virginia, was placed in command of 



398 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



all the Federal forces. In the South, overconfident because 
of this rout of the invaders, many believed that northerners 
would not fight and that the war was practically over. As a 
result the government found it difficult to keep up prepara- 
tions for the bitter conflict it knew to be ahead. 

Blockade of southern ports. — In April, 1861, President 
Lincoln declared a blockade of all southern ports from 
Virginia to Texas. At this time he had only ninety naval 
vessels with which to enforce it, and half of them were 
sailing craft. In order to guard the harbor entrances, mer- 
chantmen, ferry boats, tugs and even fishing schooners, 
were armed and pressed into service. 

In 1860, the seceding states sold abroad, principally to 
England, 4,700,000 bales of cotton, valued at $220,000,000. 
The next year, poor as the blockading forces were, these 
exports fell to $42,000,000, and in 1862 to $4,000,000. The 
blockade caused the price of cotton in America to tumble, 

and in England 
^=i^. &===_ I^^teA^tei':..,^- to soar. The 

profit went to 
the owners of 
many small 
swift boats 
called "blockade 
runners." On 
dark nights, and 
when storms 
were raging, 
these cunning 
craft would slip past the patrol boats and speed, for the 
West Indies, where steamers were waiting to load the cot- 
ton for England. Taking on munitions and supplies the 
runners w^ould endeavor to steal into port, or strive to 
find some unguarded landing-place along the Confederate 
coast. As the blockade became more effective their risk 




A Blockade Runner 



THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THE WAR 399 

increased and it is estimated that fifteen thousand of them 
were captured during the war. Had the South not been 
so "choked," her resistance would have been so much more 
effective that it is not improbable the North would have de- 
spaired of success and insisted on abandoning the struggle. 

Trouble threatened with England. — The Confederate 
cause had the sympathy of the wealthy and governing 
classes in England. Fully four-fifths of the House of Lords 
and most of the House of Commons believed that the South 
would win, and desired to see the Union broken as a proof 
that the republican form of government was a failure. 
Even William Gladstone, the Great Commoner, thought the 
North would be beaten. The working classes of England, 
though four million of them were suffering from hard times 
occasioned by the closing of the mills for lack of cotton, 
favored the northern cause, as a result of their natural op- 
position to slavery. 

In November, 1861, President Davis sent John Slidell, of 
Louisiana, and James M. Mason, of Virginia, as commis- 
sioners from the Confederate States to Great Britain and 
France. Mason and Slidell ran the blockade from Charles- 
ton to Havana and took passage on the British mail steamer 
Trent. Off the Bahamas the steamer was halted by the 
United States Sloop of War, San Jacinto; Captain Wilkes 
insisted on searching the Trent, and the two commissioners 
were seized, taken to Boston and imprisoned. Irritated be- 
cause England had already recognized the conflict in Amer- 
ica as a zvar which, according to the laws of nations, com- 
pelled the United States to treat all captured Confederates 
as prisoners of war and not as rebels, the North was only 
too glad to approve the seizure of Mason and Slidell. On 
the other hand the British Government was furious and 
despatched war vessels and troops to Canada. In fact war 
was only averted by the intervention of Queen Victoria, 
who insisted that her ministers modifv their demands. 



400 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



President Lincoln, aware that Wilkes had committed the 
same offense for which the United States had once gone to 
war with England, promptly apologized. Mason and Slidell 
were delivered over to the British and the incident was closed. 
The campaign of 1862. — After the battle of Manassas 
there followed a long period of preparation by both sides. 
In the South, factories were established to manufacture 
guns and ammunition, clothing, blankets, saddlery and other 
army equipment. 

By the oi)ening of 1862, the North had six hundred thou- 
sand men under arms and the S'outh about half that number. 
The Confederates were holding a line which crossed north- 
ern Virginia to Cumberland Gap, and then extended through 
southern Kentucky to the Mississippi, just below the mouth 
of the Ohio. A large Federal army in northern Virginia 
was making ready to advance on Richmond and General 
Halleck was gathering troops at St. Louis, Cairo and Louis- 
ville, for holding Kentucky and Missouri as bases from 
which to secure control of the Mississippi Valley. 

Fighting in the West. — The Confederates rallied from 

their defeat at Wil- 
son's Creek in south- 
ern Missouri and 
made a desperate but 
vain effort at Pea 
Ridge, Arkansas, to 
secure control of 
southern Missouri 
(March, 1862). 
Meanwhile, General 
Ulysses S. Grant, by 
order of General 
Halleck, had moved 
south and captured 
Fort Henry, on the 




Southern Missouri and Northern 
Arkansas 



THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THE WAR 



401 



Tennessee River, just below the Kentucky line. Grant then 
marched across the hills to attack Fort Donelson, on the 
Cumberland, a few miles to the east. Surrounded by vastly 
superior forces and, though fighting bravely, unable to break 
through, General Buckner was forced to accept Grant's 
terms of "unconditional surrender" (February sixteenth). 
Not only was the loss of men and supplies serious to the 
Confederates, but, worse still, the western -end of their first 
line of defense had to be abandoned, and Kentucky and most 
of western and central Tennessee came under Federal con- 
trol. This enabled the armies operating south of the Ohio 
to move their base to Nashville. 

The bloody battle of Shiloh Church. — -The Confederate 
second line of defense extended from Memphis through 



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Where the Western Campaigns Were Fought 




402 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

southern Tennessee and the northeastern corner of Missis- 
sippi, and across northern Alabama to Chattanooga. Grant 
carried his army down the Tennessee on transports, ac- 
companied by a fleet of gunboats, and disembarked at Pitts- 
burgh Landing. He encamped at Shiloh Church and 
awaited General Buell's army, which Halleck had ordered 
to reinforce him before he should strike the Confederates 
again. Generals. Albert Sidney Johnston and Beauregard 
had united their armies and were at 
Corinth, Mississippi, about twenty 
miles to the south. In an effort to 
defeat Grant before Buell should ar- 
rive the Confederates attacked him on 
Sunday morning, April sixth, with 
such an onslaught that he was driven 
back to the protection of the gunboats 
on the river. Their plans went amiss 

Albert Sidney though, for during the night Buell ar- 

Johnston *= ' . *'..,. 

rived and with the aid of his twenty 

thousand fresh troops General Grant was able the next day 

to force the Confederates to retreat. The casualties in this 

terrible battle numbered twenty thousand and the South met 

with an irreparable loss in the death of General Johnston. 

On the same day Island Number Ten, commanding the 
Mississippi just below Columbus, Kentucky, was taken by 
General Pope, aided by a fleet under Commodore Foote. 
Pope then joined Grant and Buell at Pittsburgh Landing, 
and the combined armies moved southward to Corinth, 
which fell without resistance. This enabled the Federals 
to cut the only railroad running east and west, the main 
line of communication on which the Confederates in this 
region depended for reinforcements and supplies. Com- 
modore Foote moved his fleet southward and captured 
Memphis. 

The capture of New Orleans. — In .\pril. Admiral Far- 



THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THE WAR 403 

ragut entered the Mississippi from the Gulf of Mexico. 
He had a powerful squadron and was supported by a land 
force of fifteen thousand men commanded by General But- 
ler. Farragut cut the cables which had been stretched across 
the river seventy-five miles below New Orleans, and for 
six days sustained a terrific bombardment from the forts 
on both banks. Finally, he resorted to the desperate plan 
of running by them at night, and after destroying the little 
Confederate fleet easily took the city (April twenty-seventh). 

The Confederates had now lost control of the whole Mis- 
sissippi, except for a stretch two hundred miles long extend- 
ing from Vicksburg to Port Hudson. Both of these points 
were defended by fortifications on such high bluffs that they 
were out of reach of the guns on naval vessels. 

The Confederate counter-blow. — In order to prevent 
the Federals from realizing their plan of driving a wedge 
through the Mississippi Valley, General 
Braxton Bragg, who had succeeded 
Beauregard, moved northward into Ken- 
tucky, evidently headed for Louisville. 
Should that city fall into his hands, the 
Confederates expected so many Ken- 
tuckians would champion the southern 

cause that Kentucky would join the Con- ^ „ 

•^ . -^ ^ . Braxton Bragg 

federacy. Moreover, with Kentucky in 

their control, an invasion of the states across the Ohio 

would be easy. 

General Buell was ordered to hasten north to oppose 
Bragg, and the two armies met at Perryville. Outnum- 
bered, Bragg was forced to retreat. He gave up his plan 
of holding Kentucky and withdrew to Tennessee, taking 
along great quantities of captured supplies. The campaign 
had failed, for it had not forced Grant to abandon his po- 
sition in northern Mississippi. So dissatisfied was the War 
Department in Washington with Buell for allowing Bragg 




404 OL'R COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

to escape that his command, now cahed the "Army of the 
Cumberland," was assigned to General Rosecrans. A few 
weeks before Rosecrans had repulsed a Confederate force 
at Corinth (October fourth), and now he proceeded to 
attack Cragg in winter quarters on the Stone River near 
Murfreesboro, about thirty miles southeast of Nashville. 
After three days of fighting the Confederates withdrew, 
although Rosecrans sustained the heavier losses, and for 
months both armies rested and tried to recuperate their 
strength. 

The peninsula campaign. — During the fall and winter 
of 1861 the Confederate and Union forces were encamped 
only a few miles apart near Manassas Junction. Both were 
drilling and equipping in preparation for the next drive 
against Richmond. By March, 1862, McClellan had a hun- 
dred and eighty thousand soldiers, and the northern news- 
papers were criticizing him for his inaction. There were 
four ways for an army to get from Washington to Rich- 
mond. The direct overland route was the shortest but by 
far the most difficult, for it led across many rivers and 
considerable swampy ground — obstacles equal to a large 
opposing :army. A longer land approach could be found by 
way of the Shenandoah Valley, called the "back door to 
Washington." Then there was the all-water route, down 
the Potomac River, through Chesapeake Bay and up the 
James River. The peninsula between the James and York 
Rivers offered a combined water and land approach. 

When the campaign was being planned McClellan pre- 
ferred the all-water route, but President Lincoln desired the 
army to march overland in order to keep between Wash- 
ington and General Joseph Johnston's Confederate forces. 
As a compromise the peninsula approach was chosen. Early 
in April McClellan moved his army down to the tip end of 
the peninsula. General McDowell was left in northern Vir- 
ginia with forty-five thousand men to guard the approaches 



THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THE WAR 



405 




Joseph E. Johnston 



Lo Washington, and over in the Shenandoah Valley General 
Banks and Fremont were to keep the "back door" tightly 
closed. The Confederate defenses at Yorktown delayed 
McClellan a month ; but by the last of May he had fought 
his way to within ten miles of 
Richmond. His army was en- 
camped on both sides of the 
Chickahominy, with its base at 
Whitehouse Landing on the 
York. While the river was 
flooded, General Johnston at- 
tacked the forces on the south- 
ern bank and for two days the 
battle of "Seven Pines" raged 
with a relentless fury. Rein- 
forcements finally managed to 
cross the river and save the 
Federals from a catastrophe. 

General Johnston was wounded and General Robert E. Lee 
succeeded him in command of the Confederate army. 

Lee immediately ordered "Stonewall" Jackson, who was 
over in the Shenandoah region watching Banks and Fre- 
mont, to make a dash toward Washington. Within a month 
Jackson had fought six battles and a number of skirmishes 
and was driving the Union troops in a rout toward the 
Potomac. Lincoln was so alarmed that he ordered McDow- 
ell, who had started south to reinforce ]\IcClellan, to bring 
his army back to the defense of the capital. Having accom- 
plished Lee's purpose, Jackson abandoned his pursuit and 
marched quickly across the country and joined in the defense 
of Richmond. 

While waiting for McDowell, McClellan decided to trans- 
fer his base from the York to Harrison's Landing on the 
James. In the midst of this move Lee fell upon him, and 
from June twenty-sixth to July second the "Seven Davs' 



406 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




Robert E. Lee 



Battle" raged. Defeated at Malvern Hill by an army not 
half so large as his own, McClellan withdrew to his new 
base where he was now under the protection of a strong 
reinforcing fleet. Sixteen thousand lives had been sacri- 
ficed in the attempt to capture Richmond, which was still 



THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THE WAR 



407 



in Confederate hands. Disheartened, the Federals lost con- 
fidence in their leader, while the elated Confederates be- 
lieved Lee invincible. President Lincoln immediately issued 
a call for three hundred thousand more soldiers and sum- 
moned General Halleck from the West to become com- 
mander-in-chief of all the Federal armies. The "Army of 
Virginia" was created, consisting of the forces which were 
under Banks, Fremont and McDowell, and its command 
given to General Pope. 

The invasion of Maryland. — McClellan was ordered to 
unite his forces with the Army of Virginia. As soon as 
Lee and Jackson learned that he had begun to embark it 
for transport by 
water, they turned 
north to meet 
Pope, who was 
advancing in their 
direction. The 
two armies met 
on the old battle- 
ground of Bull 
Run, and here 
was fought the 
second battle of 
Manassas. After 
a terrific engage- 
ment the Army 
of Virginia was 
completely rout- 
ed, and as hap- 
pened a year be- 
fore, the Federals 
{\ed for protec- 
tion to the de- 
fenses of the cap- 




THE PENNSYLVANIA AND MARYl 
THEATER OF WAR 



408 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

ital. The Confederates did not pursue, for, barefoot and in 
rags and destitute of supplies of all kinds, they were in no 
condition for such a struggle as must ensue before the Wash- 
ington fortifications could be reduced. They, therefore, turned 
northwestward and crossed over into Maryland. Now Pope 
had been reinforced by McClellan, and together they started 
in pursuit, overtaking the Confederate rear at Antietam 
Creek near Sharpsburg (September seventeenth). In the 
engagement which followed, more men were killed than on 
any other day of the war. It was a drawn battle ; the Con- 
federates withdrew from Maryland, but the exhausted Fed- 
erals dared not attack them even while crossing the Potomac. 

His failure to capture Lee's army caused McClellan to 
lose his place as commander-in-chief. He was superseded 
by the brave but reckless General Ambrose E; Burnside, 
who almost immediately started a drive for Richmond by 
the direct overland route. When Burnside reached the Rap- 
pahannock River at Fredericksburg he found the Confed- 
erates fortified on the heights back of the city, and ready 
for him. Six times the "boys in blue" charged the position, 
only to be laid low by the Confederates' withering fire. 
After having sustained appalling losses Burnside gave up 
the effort and recrossed the Rappahannock and established 
winter quarters. Soon afterward, General Joseph Hooker 
supplanted Burnside in command of the Army of the Po- 
tomac. Well might the North be gloomy over the future, 
for by the end of 1862 its success in the West had been 
more than wiped out by the disasters in the East. 

An effort to break the blockade. — Early in the war the 
Confederates made an effort to break the blockade. A few- 
destroyers succeeded in getting to sea and were assisted in 
preying on northern commerce by several swift cruisers 
built and equipped in England. Though contrary to interna- 
tional law, the British Government allowed this over the 
constant protest of the United States authorities. These 



THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THE WAR 



4n9 




C. S. S. Alabama 



Confederate vessels spread havoc among the "Yankee' mer- 
chantmen, which were to be fomid in all parts of the world, 
and kept many Federal war-ships busy trying to capture 
them. The most destructive of them was the Alabama, built 
in Liverpool and al- 
lowed to put to sea 
despite the protest 
of the American 
minister. Com- 
manded by Captain 
Raphael Semmes, 
\\\iS: Alabama roamed 
the seas for two 
years and destroyed 
sixty-eight northern merchantmen. At last, in 1864, it was 
sunk in the English Channel by the U. S. S. Kcarsage. 

Before the navy-yard at Norfolk was surrendered, the 
old wooden vessel Mcrrimac was sunk. The Confederates 
raised her, cut away all the upper works and plated the decks 
with two layers of sheet iron. As cannon balls would have 
no more efifect on her now than hail on a- tin roof, they 
thought she would be more effective in breaking the blockade 
than a whole fleet of wooden vessels. With much appre- 
hension the Federal authorities awaited the appearance of 
the Virginia, as she had been rechristened, among the block- 
ading fleet in Hampton Roads, near the mouth of Chesa- 
peake Bay. On March 8, 1862, just when McClellan was 
opening his peninsula campaign, the Virginia steamed into 
the "Roads" and made for the blockading fleet. Three of 
the Federal vessels ran aground in advancing to battle, but 
the Congress and Cumberland, aided by land batteries, 
poured a heavy fire on her in vain. At last the Cumberland 
was sunk by one blow of the Virginia s great iron beak, and 
the Congress was set on fire. With nightfall the "ironclad" 
steamed back to Norfolk and the North was rightly alarmed, 



410 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

for she had broken the blockade at Norfolk and would 
likely continue her work all along the coast. 

First naval battle in the world between ironclads. — 
That night there arrived in Hampton Roads a strange- 
looking vessel which had just been built at the Brooklyn 
Navy Yard as an experiment. In derision, the Confed- 



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J^f^frfJ^'p^: 
























,~''*''^f^*v 








Battle between the Monitor .in<l Mcrrimac on March 9, 1862 

erates called it a "Yankee cheese box on a raft." This 
vessel, named the Monitor, had a low steel hull, not more 
than three feet above water, and a revolving steel tower 
amidships which carried two powerful guns. When the 
Virginia entered the "Roads" the next morning the Monitor 
steamed straight toward her. For three hours the terrific 
duel raged, and at the end neither vessel was much dam- 
aged. No further effort was made by the Virginia to break 
the blockade, and a few weeks later when Norfolk was evac- 
uated she was burned. The advantage of armored vessels 
had been demonstrated and naval construction revolution- 
ized. At once all governments began building ironclads to 
supersede their old wooden war-ships. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. Why was so much of the fighting of the war done in Virginia? 

2. What is meant by a "paper blockade"? Why was the blockade 

of the southern ports so disastrous to the Confederacy? 



THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THE WAR 



411 



England had already recognized the belligerency of the Con- 
federacy when Captain Wilkes seized Mason and Slidell. Did 
the United States have any right to imprison these men? 
Why was it an outrage against the British flag? 

Name the border states. Why did the Federal Government make 
such efforts to keep these states from seceding? Was it of 
special importance to the Union that Maryland should not 
secede? 

How did the Confederate Government get vessels for its navy? 

Locate on the map Bull Run Creek and Manassas, noting their 
distance from Washington. 



SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. Running the blockade. 

2. The Battle of Bull Run. 

3. The lives of the following men : Lee, Grant, Semmes, Farragut. 

REFERENCES 

1. Southworth's Builders of Our Nation, Book H, pp. 209-212, 

2. Hart's Romance of the Civil War, pp. 347-362. 

3. Hart's Source Book, pp. 119-131, 200-207, 220-247. 




Prayer Time in Stonewall Jackson's Camp 
This was a daily occurrence 



CHAPTER XXXI 
HOW THE WAR WAS FINALLY WON 

The -war and slavery. — The war had been brought 
about by sectional differences growing out of slavery ; but 
if abolition had been the issue the North would not have 
sanctioned it. Both President Lincoln and Congress were 
careful to insist that it was a struggle to "maintain the su- 
])remacy of the Constitution and preserve the Union." They 
knew well that any threatened interference with slavery 
would cause the border states to secede. 

Runaway and captured slaves occasioned the Union gen- 
erals much annoyance. General Butler at Fortress Alonroe 
had declared them "contraband of war" and detained them 
in his camp. Other generals went so far as to declare the 
slaves free in all regions controlled by their armies. At 
the close of the first year of the war when the prospect 
looked so gloomy for the Xorth, Lincoln began to see in the 
slavery question an opportunity to arouse the smoldering 
enthusiasm of the North, and check the growing demand 
that fighting should cease. He therefore began to listen 
more considerately to the entreaties of radicals, who from 
the start had urged emancipation. As the North was find- 
ing it hard to keep its ranks filled by enlistment, the possi- 
bility of arming the negroes and using them in the army 
also appealed to him. When Lee and Jackson invaded 
Maryland, the president is said to have declared that if Mc- 
Clellan should defeat them at Sharpsburg and drive them 
back across the Potomac, he would send a proclamation 
after them freeing their slaves. This would be a blow at 
tlie very heart of tlic Confederate fighting machine, for 

412 



HOW THE WAR WAS FINALLY WOK 



4L3 



slaves were a necessity if the war were to be won. They 
stayed on the plantations after their owners had joined the 
army and raised food for both soldiers and civilians, and 
worked in great gangs at the front building roads, bridges 
and fortifications. 

Slavery abolished in the District of Columbia. — Con- 
gress had already abolished slavery in the District of 
Columbia, paying the owners three hundred dollars for each 
slave. Besides, in defiance of the Dred Scott decision, it had 
set the slaves free in the territories. An unsuccessful effort 
had also been made to induce the border states to free theirs 
too at the expense of the Federal Government. 

Lincoln issues his Emancipation Proclamation. — On 
September 22, 1862, even though jMcClellan did not win a 
victory. President Lincoln issued a proclamation giving 
warning that on January 1, 1863, "all persons held in slav- 
ery in any state, the people whereof shall then be in arms 
against the United States, shall be then, thereafter and 
forever free." The Confederacy naturally paid no attention 
to a threat that could only be enforced by victory. Through- 
out the Union and abroad, however, the war came to be 




Lincoln Reading the Emancipation Proclamation to His Cabinet 



414 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

regarded as a great moral crusade against human bondage. 
So ardent in their support of the northern cause became the 
common people in England that the British Government 
dared not recognize the Confederate States as a nation, nor 
interfere with the blockade of its ports. On January 1, 
1863, Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation which 
declared the slaves free in all the seceding states, except Ten- 
nessee and parts of Louisiana and Virginia where the Union 
armies were in control. He had no constitutional right to 
abolish slavery anywhere ; but as commander-in-chief of the 
army he could resort to such measures as a military neces- 
sity. Had not the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitu- 
tion been ratified by the states later, it is doubtful whether 
the slaves would have been free after the war was over. 
Within two years Tennessee, Missouri and Maryland, dom- 
inated as they were by Federal armies, voted to abolish 
slavery. The people of western Virginia, because they had 
remained loyal to the Union, were allowed to form a sep- 
arate state with a constitution prohibiting slavery, and were 
admitted in 1863 as West Virginia. 

Freedmen enlist in the Union armies. — As soon as the 
Emancipation Proclamation had been issued, the Union 
generals began to enlist the freedmen, and before the war 
ended one hundred eighty-six thousand negro soldiers had 
been enrolled. The Confederate commanders could not rec- 
ognize them, and therefore the Federal authorities ceased 
the exchange of prisoners. The South, already short of 
provisions for her own loyal sons fighting to uphold the 
rights their fathers had died for, now had the added burden 
of feeding thousands of captured northerners. As is always 
the case with prisoners of war, many died of despondency 
and disease, unavoidable under the terrible privation which 
prevailed throughout the South at this time. 

The second invasion of the North. — During the winter 
of 1862-63, General Hooker had been training his men for 



HOW THE WAR WAS FINALLY WON 



415 



another effort to capture Richmond. In the spring he 
marched up the north bank of the Rappahannock, intending 
to sHp around the Confederate Hnes by the Chancellorsville 
road. Lee and Jackson, with their Httle force of sixty-two 
thousand, attacked this well-equipped Army of the Potomac, 
numbering a hundred and thirteen thousand, at Chancellors- 
ville. The battle lasted 
five days and finally 
Hooker was compelled 
to retire, thoroughly 
beaten (May 5, 1863). 
The two armies lost over 
thirty thousand men. 
The South mourned the 
death, especially, of her 
intrepid general, Stone- 
wall Jackson, shot by his 
own men through mis- 
take. When news of 
Hooker's defeat at 
Chancellorsville got by 
the censors in Washing- 
ton, despair reigned 
throughout the North. 

Elated with victory, 
the Confederates thought it time to execute President 
Davis's threat to carry the conflict into the great cities of 
the North "where food for the sword and torch awaits our 
armies." Lee, with seventy-five thousand troops, marched 
down the Shenandoah Valley, crossed the Potomac and was 
soon in Pennsylvania. Late in June he was within five miles 
of Harrisburg and the prospect was bright for the taking of 
Philadelphia or Baltimore soon. Hooker, who was in pur- 
suit, had begun to threaten the Confederate base of supplies. 
To compel him to abandon this project, Lee started east- 




Thomas J. ("Stonewall") Jackson 



416 



OUR COUXTRVS HISTORY 



Va- V3. 'A I 



*♦♦ Railrooud 
Turnpikes 



ward from Chambersburg, as if to attack Washington. 
General Meade, who just at this time superseded Hooker 
in command of the Army of the Potomac, started north- 
ward from Frederick, and the two armies met near the Httle 
village of Gettysburg. There began, on July first, the most 

deadly battle of the 
entire war, and when 
it was over the tide 
of the Confederacy 
had set out to sea 
forever. 

The deadly bat- 
tle at Gettysburg. 
— Success was with 
the Confederates on 
the first day. The 
Union forces were 
compelled to retire 
through the village 
and lost live thou- 
sand prisoners. That 
night they took posi- 
tion on a low range 
of hills, known as 
Cemetery Ridge, ex- 
tending for three 
miles south of the 
town. Lee's army 
occupied Seminary 
Ridge, a similar range a mile to the west. Attempts made 
on the second day to take the knolls at the two ends of 
Cemetery Ridge failed. On the afternoon of July third, 
when the batteries of Cemetery Ridge had apparently 
been silenced by the Confederate artillery fire, Lee de- 
cided the moment had come to launch the mighty effort he 




jV^' o 

"'''^^ \ \\ 

'>'/ni>^-'^ Round Top 



'Si 
THE BATTLEFIELD OF GETTYSBURG 



HOW THE WAR WAS FINALLY WON 



417 



had planned. Fifteen thousand of Virginia's finest sol- 
(Hers, led by Pickett, Pettigrew and Trimble, in the shape 
of a human wedge a mile wide, charged straight across the 
fields and up the slopes of the ridge, which' bristled with 
Federal guns. It was a thrilling sight, but appalling in car- 
nage. Thinning and thinning as the murderous cannon fire 
and volleys from the Union infantry poured upon them, the 
Confederates closed up their ranks and pressed on until at 
last they neared the first line of Federals, posted behind a 
stone wall. General Armistead leaped over and swinging 
his hat to encourage his men shouted, "Give them the cold 
steel, boys!" A hand-to-hand con- 
flict ensued as the Confederates 
tried to seize the northern guns. 
Armistead was shot down with his 
hand on a cannon and hundreds of 
brave men fell with victory almost 
within their grasp. Pickett was 
forced to sovnid the retre.'it, and the 
remnant of the shattered Confed- 
erate forces withdrew to their lines. 
The next day Lee began to with- 
draw into Virginia, leaving behind 
in killed, wounded and captured over twenty thousand of 
his soldiers. General Meade had lost twenty-three thou- 
sand, but the North was saved. 

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. — On November 19, 
1863, a part of the battle-field of Gettysburg was dedi- 
cated as "a cemetery wherein to l)ury the bodies of the 
slain." At the ceremonies l^resident Lincoln delivered an 
address expressing his faith in the destiny of the nation 
as follows : 

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth 
on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and 
dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 




George G. Meade 



418 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether 
that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedi- 
cated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field 
of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that 
field as a final resting place for those who here gave their 
lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting 
and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense 
we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hal- 
low this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who 
struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor 
power to add or detract. The world will little note, not long 
remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what 
they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedi- 
cated here to the unfinished work which they who fought 
here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us 
to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — 
that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to 
that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devo- 
tion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not 
have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a 
new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, 
by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth. 

The attitude of France. — In France the ruling classes, 
the bankers, many of the business men, the higher clergy, 
in fact a large part of the best Frenchmen, favored the Con- 
federacy. Napoleon III, the Emperor, desired to see the 
North lose, because he had designs against Mexico which 
could not be carried out were she to emerge from the con- 
flict strong enough to enforce the Monroe Doctrine. Mexico 
owed a large amount of money to citizens of England, 
France and Spain, and as she had been for some time in 
a state of insurrection these debts could not be collected. 
In 1861, while the United States was busy getting ready for 
war with the Confederacy, Napoleon sent an army to Mex- 
ico, and within two years had subdued the country. Mexico 
was then proclaimed an empire and the Archduke Maxi- 
milian, nephew of the Austrian Emperor, was placed on the 
throne with the aid of French soldiers. For the purpose 



HOW THE WAR WAS FINALLY WON 419 

of putting the South under such obHgations that it would 
not interfere with his Mexican plans. Napoleon had been 
importuning the British Government to join France in rec- 
ognizing the Confederate States as a nation, and in inter- 
vening to stop the "useless bloodshed." After Burnside's 
defeat at Fredericksburg it looked as though Parliament 
would do this, but while it hesitated Lincoln issued his 
Emancipation Proclamation. Then the fervor of the work- 
ing classes for the northern cause became so great that 
Parliament dared not act so contrary to the people's wishes. 
London bankers, too, had begun to lose confidence in Presi- 
dent Davis because of the insinuation of northern agents 
that he had been responsible years before for Mississippi's 
repudiating some of her bonds which were owned in Great 
Britain. 

Opening of the Mississippi. — Although by the end of 
1862 the Federals controlled much of the Mississippi, they 
had not cut the Confederacy in two. The stretch between 
A'icksburg and Port Hudson afforded opportunity still for 
shipping supplies from the Western States to the armies op- 
erating east of the fiver, and in this way considerable am- 
munition which had been sent from Europe to Mexico was 
reaching the Confederates. Vicksburg, the key to this gap, 
was considered so impregnable that it was spoken of as the 
"Gibraltar of the Confederacy." Situated on a bluff which 
rises almost perpendicularly two hundred feet above the 
Mississippi, the city had been provided with many concealed 
batteries and was garrisoned with thirty thousand troops 
commanded by General Pemberton. 

Early in 1863 General Grant and General W. T. Sherman, 
with seventy-five thousand soldiers, aided by a flotilla of 
gunboats under Commodore Porter, set out to take this 
stronghold. Three months were spent in vain attempts to 
capture the place by storming it from the north. Then 
Grant decided to move his army down the Louisiana bank 



420 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



to a point below the city, whence he could cross over and 
make an assault from the south. In order to be ready to 
ferry the troops across, Commodore Porter ran his fleet 
past the city in the night in the face of a most terrific bom- 
bardment. So desperate was the effort of the Confederates 
to prevent the fleet from passing that they set houses on fire 




Federal Gunboats Passing Vicksburg at Night (April 16, 1863) 



in dilTerent parts of the city to light up the river and aid 
the gunners in making their fire more elTective. It was all 
in vain, for in a few hours the vessels were safely below the 
city, ready to ferry the troops back to the Mississippi side. 

The fall of Vicksburg. — General Pemberton hastened 
south to attack the Federals before they could reach Vicks- 
burg. General Johnston was on his way with reinforce- 
ments, but before the two armies could unite Grant had 
beaten Pemberton at Port Gibson. A few days later he 
met Johnston at Jackson and defeated him, too. From there 
the Federals turned west and fought another l^attle with 



HOW THE WAR WAS FINALLY WON 



421 



Pemberton at Champion Hills, a small place between Jack- 
son and Vicksburg. In this engagement Pemberton was 
so badly beaten that he had to retire within the fortifica- 
tions of the city. After failing again to take Vicksburg 
by assault, Grant 
settled down to a 
siege. An incessant 
bombardment was 
kept up for seven 
weeks and the resi- 
dents, driven from 
their wrecked 
homes, were forced 
to seek shelter in 
caves. Food be- 
came so scarce that 
the soldiers were 
reduced to a ration 
of a single cracker 
and a small piece 
of bacon a day. 
When the city was finally so near starvation that the resi- 
dents' were actually eating dogs and rats, General Pember- 
ton decided that every humane consideration demanded that 
he should surrender. On July 4, 1863, Vicksburg fell. Four 
days later, Port Hudson also surrendered. At last the Con- 
federacy had been completely severed from north to south, 
and in the language of President Lincoln, "the father of 
waters rolled unvexed to the sea." 

Raising the armies. — Never before in its history had 
the American people known compulsory military service, for 
all the previous wars had been fought with the aid of state 
militiamen and volunteers. Early in 1862 General Lee per- 
suaded President Davis to ask the Confederate Congress 
to enact a law requiring all able-bodied males between the 




Ulysses S. Grant 



422 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



ages of eighteen and thirty-five to enter the army. Later 
as more men were needed to overcome the losses and offset 
the huge armies the North was' raising, the age hmit was ad- 
vanced to forty-five, and before the end old men and young 
boys were being drafted. From the start conscription was 
abhorrent to the mountaineers, and to many small farmers 
and tenants of the piny woods districts. It is estimated 
that as many as one hundred thousand fled to remote parts 
of Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee, where they 
were aided by Union sympathizers in their efforts to avoid 
service. 

Conscription was not employed by the Federal Govern- 
ment until 1863, although some of the states had resorted to 
it to fill their quotas the previous year. Under the draft 
law, enrollment was made of all males from eighteen to 
forty-five and soldiers were drawn by lot as needed. Since 
for three hundred dollars a drafted man could buy a "sub- 
stitute" and escape military service completely, it was only 
the poor who were compelled to serve. As a result, opposi- 
tion to conscription became so bitter that in many northern 
cities riots broke out. The worst occurred in New York 
during July, 1863 ; in four days over a thousand persons 




A Draft Riot in New York City 



HOW THE WAR WAS FINALLY WON 



423 



were murdered. The mobs wreaked their vengeance espe- 
cially on abolitionists and negroes by hanging them to lamp 
posts at the street corners. Before the disorder was quelled 
troops had to be brought from Gettysbvirg. 

Meanwhile, in order to encourage voluntary enlisting, 
bounties were paid recruits by the Federal, state and city 
governments, and by 1864 these amounted to a thousand 
dollars each. As a result "bounty jumping" became com- 
mon ; that is, a man would enlist under an assumed name, 
serve a short time, collect his bounties and desert. Then he 
would reenlist elsewhere, under another name, and collect 
additional bounties. 

Getting control of Chattanooga. — The battle of Alur- 
freesboro left the armies of Rosecrans and Bragg too ex- 
hausted for further hostilities and they watched each other 
from safe distances until after the fall of Vicksburg. Then 
Rosecrans was 
ordered to push 
Bragg out of 
Tennessee, as 
the first move 
toward driving 
another wedge 
through the Con- 
federacy — this 
time from west 
to east. With 
his large army 
Rosecrans was 
soon able to 
push Bragg east- 
ward to a final 
stand at Chatta- 
nooga. Both sides were alive to the importance of this 
"Gateway to the South." The city is situated in the valley 




The Vicinity of Chattanooga 



424 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

of the Tennessee and is surrounded by a number of low 
mountain ranges between which there are passes which 
afford easy access to the southeast. Through one of these 
gaps ran the railway to Atlanta, by which most of the sup- 
plies from the Southwest reached the armies in Virginia. 
Chattanooga also was the key to eastern Tennessee and 
Kentucky, and so long as the Confederates held the city 
they could use it as a base for raids upon the Union sym- 
pathizers in those regions. 

By moving south of Chattanooga Rosecrans was threat- 
ening to cut oft' Bragg's supplies, and in order to prevent 
this the Confederates abandoned the city on September 
ninth and moved to Lafayette, Georgia, twenty-six miles 
away. Reinforced there by General Longstreet, Bragg soon 
felt strong enough to turn on Rosecrans. On September 
nineteenth and twentieth a severe battle was fought along 
the banks of Chickamauga Creek, a few miles to the 
north. In this engagement the right wing under Rose- 
crans was completely routed, and all that saved the Union 

forces from disaster was the 
firmness with which General 
Thomas's troops stood their 
ground on the left wing and 
protected the rear of the fleeing 
Federals. In the battle of Chick- 
amauga the Confederates lost 
twenty thousand men and the 
Federals seventeen thousand. 
As soon as the Union forces 
George H. Thomas ^^^<^ retreated into the city the 

Confederates occupied Lookout 
Mountain on the south and Missionary Ridge on the east, 
arid that almost completely bottled them up. For weeks all 
their su])plies had to be brought into the city over a steep 
rough road on the north side of the Tennessee, concealed 




HOW THE WAR ^VAS FINALLY WOX 425 

from attack by some low hills. So scarce was food that 
when Grant arrived to assume command the men were on 
half rations and ten thousand horses and mules had died 
from starvation. By a skilful move he drove the Confeder- 
ates out of the Tennessee Valley and opened up his "cracker 
line" by way of the river. As soon as supplies had been 
obtained, Grant began an effort to oust the Confederates 
from wdiat appeared impregnable positions. On November 




Tlie Assault on Lookout Mountain — the So-Callecl 
"Battle aliovc the Clouds" 

twenty-fourth. General Hooker charged up the precipitous 
slopes of Lookout INlountain and, after desperate hand- 
to-hand fighting in the clouds, reached the rocky crest. The 
next day the Federals stormed and took the northern end 
of Missionary Ridge and forced Bragg to beat a hasty re- 
treat into Georgia, through Ross's Gap. There he went into 
winter quarters at Dalton, and soon after was supplanted by 
General Johnston. 

Grant adopts "hammering tactics." — When the cam- 
paign of 1864 opened the war area had contracted to four 
states — \'irginia. North Carolina, South Carolina and Geor- 



426 OUR COUNTRY.'S HISTORY 

gia. General Grant had been put in command of all the 
Federal armies, with the rank of Lieutenant-General, and 
General Sherman had succeeded him as commander of the 
troops in the West, which numbered one hundred thousand. 
For all practical purposes there were only two Confederate 
armies in the field — General Lee's, defending Richmond, 
and General Johnston's, in north Georgia. Both were far 
apart, and Grant and Sherman determined to keep them so 
and, no matter what might happen, to hammer them in- 
cessantly. They were sure the time had come when the 
South could be beaten by Lincoln's prescription — "Hold on 
with a bulldog grip, and chew and choke as much as pos- 
sible." The man power of the Confederacy was exhausted 
now, while the Union had several millions to draw upon. 

While General Meade remained in immediate command 
of the Army of the Potomac, Grant proposed to take per- 
sonal charge of the drive against Richmond. By arrange- 
ment with Sherman, the battle cries "On to Richmond !" 
and "On to Atlanta !" were to resound early in May, simul- 
taneously, though seven hundred miles apart. 

The Wilderness campaign. — On May 4, 1864, Grant 
ordered the Army of the Potomac to cross the Rapidan and, 
by outflanking Lee, to get between him and Richmond. 
The Confederates, however, were too quick for this move 
to succeed, and in a few hours were posted directly across 
his path. Had Grant tried, he could not have found a more 
disadvantageous battle-ground than the "Wilderness," as 
these sandy barrens with their dense growth of scrubby 
trees were called. Unable to see twenty feet ahead, the 
southerners' knowledge of the region made Lee's forces 
more than a match for Grant's army of twice their number. 
Although his plans had failed and two days of terrific fight- 
ing had made no impression on the Confederate resistance, 
Grant had no thought of abandoning the effort as his prede- 



HOW THE WAR WAS FINALLY WON 



427 



cessors had done. Instead, he executed another flank move- 
ment and came out of the Wilderness near Spottsylvania 
Court House. Here he was again confronted by Lee and the 
slaughter was re- 
sumed. Unable to 
advance he tried the 
flanking movement 
once more, and this 
time arrived at Cold 
Harbor. Lee ad- 
vanced to Malvern 
Hill, one of the out- 
posts of Richmond, 
and awaited Grant's 
next attack. 

The reckless sac- 
rifice of human life 
— fifty-five thousand 
killed and wounded 
in six weeks — ap- 
palled the North, 
and the press was 
demanding General 
Grant's removal. 
Lee's losses had 
been only about one- 
third that number 
and the skilful maneuvering by which he had saved his men 
won for him the reputation of being one of the world's 
ablest generals. Grant, seeing that he must be less prodigal 
of his forces, decided to abandon all effort to take Richmond 
from the north. While Lee awaited him at Malvern Hill, he 
crossed the James River, and by the time his feat was known 
was in the open country east of Petersburg. Defeated in 




I Pefersburg 

RICHMOND AND VICINITY 



428 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORV 

his plan to take that city by storm, Grant settled down to an 
eight-months' siege. 

Lee's counter-blow. — Just as he had done two years 
before when McClellan was threatening Richmond, Lee de- 
cided to strike at Washington in order to draw off Grant's 
forces. General Jubal A. Early swept down the Shenan- 
doah Valley with twenty thousand men, and was soon at 
the outer defenses of the city. But this time the Union 
forces were so strong that Grant could despatch a portion 
of his troops to the aid of the capital and not interfere with 
his campaign. Early returned to the Shenandoah but later 
made a flying raid into Pennsylvania and burned Chambers- 
burg. 

In order to prevent any more such raids Grant ordered 
General Philip H. Sheridan to the Shenandoah Valley to 
keep his eyes on Early and lay waste this granary of the 
Confederacy. After three hard-fought battles the Confed- 
erates withdrew before the superior numbers of the enemy 
and the devastation was so complete that it was said, "A 
crow passing over this region had to carry his rations with 
him." Over two thousand houses and barns, and seventy 
mills filled with flour and grain were burned. Cattle and 
sheep were slaughtered by thousands and the new crop of 
grain destroyed in the fields. This was a vital blow, as 
Lee's army was depending on this fruitful valley. for much 
of its food. 

"On to Atlanta." — According to his plan Sherman be- 
gan his southern advance early in May. As soon as he re- 
ceived a telegram saying that Grant had moved forward, it 
was his intention to finish splitting the Confederacy in two 
by driving the w^edge across Georgia to the sea. This 
would place a large part of its arsenals and w^orkshops be- 
yond reach of the armies. His first objective was Atlanta, 
the great manufacturing and railroad center, one hundred 
and forty miles southeast of Chattanooga. Li this plan 




HOW THE WAR WAS FINALLY WON 429 

Sherman assumed a great risk, for he would be continually 
lengthening his line of communication with his base at Nash- 
ville — a line in constant peril from the cavalry of General 
Nathan B. Forrest, operating in 
northern Mississippi. Johnston, with 
his sixty-five thousand soldiers at Dal- 
ton, refused to be drawn into an en- 
counter, as he was conserving his 
strength for the defense of Atlanta. 
By tactics of masterly adroitness he 
evaded Sherman's flank movements 
and withdrawing gradually succeeded 
in keeping just ahead of him. The Nathan B. Forrest 
Confederates reached Kenesaw Moun- 
tain without serious losses, although there had been sharp 
fighting at several points along the way. Here Sherman 
recklessly made a direct assault on them and received a 
severe repulse. After this battle Johnston retired to At- 
lanta. Soon he was supplanted by General John B. Hood 
because of dissatisfaction with his policy of evading battle 
which had allowed Sherman to penetrate so deeply into 
Georgia. Hood at once assumed the ofifensive and live 
heavy battles were fought in the suburbs of the citv. Finally 
Sherman seized the railway by which the Confederates 
received their supplies, and to escape a repetition of the 
Yicksburg disaster, Hood blew up the powder magazine and 
evacuated the city (September 2, 1864). 

Sherman's march to the sea. — Sherman's forces imme- 
diately occupied Atlanta and busied themselves destroying 
its shops, mills and factories, and giving to the torch every- 
thing of use to the Confederate cause. In vain General 
Hood tried to draw him from his plan by hurrying north- 
ward for an invasion of Tennessee and destroying the rail- 
road to delay pursuit. Leaving to the Army of the Cum- 
berland, under General Thomas, the task of taking care of 



430 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



this invasion, Sherman proceeded to spread straight through 
Georgia a broad area of desolation in which no Confederate 
army could subsist. About the middle of November, with 
sixty-two thousand troops, he started from Atlanta for Sa- 
vannah, three hundred miles away. Meeting but the slight 
resistance that General Wheeler's cavalry and the local mi- 




Sherman's Route through Georgia and the Carolinas 



litia could ofifer, in less than a month he had cut a swath sixty 
miles wide across the state. Telegraph wires were pulled 
down ; railroad tracks were torn up ; towns and villages were 
laid waste ; houses, farms and mills were burned ; slaves were 
set free ; nothing was left in the blackened belt which would 
support man or beast. 

On December 21, 1864, Savannah surrendered, and a 
few days later Sherman reported : "We have consumed the 
corn and fodder . . . and also the sweet potatoes, cattle, 
hogs, sheep and poultry, and have carried away ten thou- 



HOW THE WAR WAS FINALLY WON 



431 




A T3pical Scene on Sherman's March to the Sea 



sand mules and horses, as well as countless numbers of 
their slaves. I estimate the damage done to the state of 
Georgia and its military resources at one hundred million 
dollars, at least twenty million dollars of which has inured 
to our advantage and the remainder is simply waste and de- 
struction." It is natural that the untold suffering of thou- 
sands of helpless women and children in the path of his 
"march to the sea" should have caused Sherman's name to 
be detested in the South. He is said to have declared that 
"War is hell" and surely did his best to make it so. 

General Hood's campaign in Tennessee. — ?^Ieanwhile 
General Hood was struggling to regain 
Tennessee. At Franklin he was defeated 
by General Schofield with frightful cas- 
ualties. Although the North was much 
alarmed by his allowing Hood to penetrate 
so close to the Federal base at Nashville, 
Thomas was quietly gathering a formida- 
ble force for the encounter by which he 
hoped to crush him, once and for all. On December lif- 
teenth he was ready for the decisive engagement and at- 




John B. Hood 



432 OL'R COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

tacked the Confederates in the outskirts of Nashville. The 
battle raged for two days, until, overwhelmed, Hood with- 
drew his poorly armed, half -clad troops toward the south 
and settled down for the winter in northern Mississippi. 
He resigned soon after this, and Johnston resumed his old 
command. 

The work of the Federal navy. — A\'hile the Federal 
armies were reducing the seat of war on land, the navy was 
tightening the blockade. By 1864 few ports were left in 
Confederate hands and Mobile was the only one of impor- 
tance. This city, which was now a center for blockade run- 
ning, was defended by two powerful forts at the entrance to 
the bay and by strong land batteries. On August fifth Ad- 
miral Farragut set out to capture the place with the aid of 
five thousand land forces. He lashed his wooden vessels to- 
gether in pairs and placing the gunboats between them and 
the forts attempted to run through as he had done at New 
Orleans. In the face of a terrific fire, all but one vessel 
got by safely, and easily defeated the little Confederate 
fleet in the harbor. In a few days the forts surrendered 
to the land forces and IMobile Bay was under Union con- 
trol. 

Early the next year, with the capture of Fort Fisher, its 
principal defense, Wilmington, N. C, passed into the hands 
of the Federals. After that Charleston was the only port of 
any importance remaining to the Confederates, and it was 
bottled up tightly by the Union war-ships just outside the 
harbor. 

Lincoln reelected president. — At the beginning of the 
war party lines had been wiped out in the North as well as 
in the South, but as the struggle progressed violent opposi- 
tion arose to the policies of both presidents. In the fall of 
1862 the Democrats elected congressmen in several border 
states and a governor in New York, on the issue that the 



HOW THE WAR WAS FINALLY WON 433 

war was a failure and peace should be made. By 1864 the 
opposition to Lincoln was so bitter that it actually split his 
own party. The "Radical Republicans" nominated General 
Fremont, who later refused to allow his name to appear on 
the ticket. The Lincoln wing under the name of the "Na- 
tional Union" party renominated the president, and as a bid 
for the votes of the border states selected a War Democrat, 
Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, for the vice-presidency. 
In their platform they pledged the preservation of the Union 
and abolition of slavery by constitutional amendment. 

The Democrats put forward General McClellan on a plat- 
form declaring the war a failure find pledging the country 
])eace. So alarmed became the National Unionists at the 
prospect of an overwhelming defeat that some thought Lin- 
coln should withdraw from the canvas. Before they could 
act, however, news was received of the fall of Atlanta and of 
Farragut's success at Mobile, and the North became more 
hopeful; Sheridan's raid through the Shenandoah Valley 
saved the day for Lincoln, and he was reelected by a major- 
ity of 400,000, though McClellan polled a vote of 1,800,000. 

The collapse of the Confederacy. — A\'hen Lincoln was 
inaugurated for his second term, March 4, 1865, it was evi- 
dent that the Confederacy was near its end. Realizing that 
the next four years must be devoted to reconciliation and 
reconstruction, he consecrated his administration to that 
task, saying, "With malice toward none, with charity for all, 
with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, 
let us strive to finish the work we are in, to bind up the 
nation's wounds, to care for him who has borne the battle 
and for his widow and orphan — to do all which may achieve 
and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and 
with all nations." 

General Lee, now commander-in-chief of the entire Con- 
federate army, sent Johnston to the Carolinas to collect 



434 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

forces with which to prevent Sherman from uniting with 
Grant. It was Lee's plan to march south and join him a 
little later, so that with their combined armies they might 
defeat Sherman and afterward settle with Grant. Mean- 
while, his own situation was becoming daily more hazardous. 
Only a single railroad for bringing up supplies remained in 
his control, and there was constant danger of this being cut 
by one of Grant's flank movements. Sherman had left Sa- 
vannah early in February and was pushing northward rap- 
idly. When Lee decided it was unsafe to delay his start 
longer, he set out with his half-starved army, though it was 
still winter and many of the soldiers were wearing uniforms 
in tatters and shoes dropping from their feet. Finding the. 
horses and mules too weak to drag the artillery and baggage 
trains over the muddy roads, he was compelled to abandon 
the undertaking. 

Sherman's progress through the Carolinas was vigorously 
opposed by small forces of Confederate cavalry under Gen- 
erals Wheeler and Hampton. Enraged 
by this opposition, he did not try to re- 
strain his soldiers, who, after burning 
the warehouses at Columbia, wantonly 
aj)plied the torch to the city. Charleston 
fell easily, for Forts Sumter and Wag- 
ner had already been nearly pounded to 
pieces by a combined land and naval ex- 
Wade Hampton pedition, and the city was in no condi- 
tion to resist. At Bentonville, North 
Carolina, Sherman pushed past Johnston and during the last 
week in March entered Goldsboro. Here he was within a 
hundred and fifty miles of Grant and in direct railway com- 
munication with him as well as with the coast. Lee had been 
delayed too long, and it was useless now for him to think of 
keeping Sherman from joining Grant. In an effort to save 
his supply line as long as possible, he ordered General John 





HOW THE WAR WAS FINALLY WOX -lo5 

B. Gordon to storm a part of the Federal works at Peiers- 
burg. By most heroic fighting Gordon took one of the forts, 
but could not hold it against the ter- 
rible shelling of the Union batteries. 
By this time General Sheridan had 
arrived from the Shenandoah region, 
and on the way had destroyed the 
canal and railroad connecting Rich- 
mond with the West. On April first 
he dealt Lee a deadly blow by seiz- 
in.g Five Forks, a few miles from the 

city, and cutting his sui)i)ly line. In t i r. r- i 

-' * . . John B. Gordon 

an attempt to retake this point was 

fought the last battle of the war. To secure the necessary 
soldiers Lee so weakened his lines that the Federals easily 
broke through. His only chance now was to retreat and 
await the arrival of Johnston's army. That same night Lee 
evacuated his positions before Petersburg and Richmond, 
and began a hasty flight for the mountains toward the west. 
In the confusion attending the destruction of the records 
and the departure of the government the capital caught fire. 
A third of Richmond lay in ashes before the Union soldiers, 
who occupied the city on April third, were able to extinguish 
the flames. 

The surrender at Appomattox. — To capture Lee and 
his army was now Grant's one concern. Day and night the 
Federals pushed on in pursuit. One week after the evacua- 
tion Sheridan's cavalry outflanked the retreating columns 
and wheeled about directly across their line of march near 
Appomattox Court House, seventy-five miles west of Rich- 
mond. With the last avenue of escape closed, Lee saw the 
futility of further resistance and sought a conference with 
Grant. 

The two leaders met in the parlor of one of the residences 
in the little village. Grant was accompanied by his staff and 



436 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



Lee by a few Confederate officers to witness the formalities 
which were to mark the close of the terrible conflict. Gen- 
eral Grant's terms were honorable and generous, such as 
befitted the chivalrous valor of his conquered enemy. All 
the Confederate officers and privates who were willing to 
promise not to engage in any more war against the United 
States until exchanged were allowed to leave for home. In- 
formed by Lee that the horses and mules in his army be- 




The McLean House at Appomattox Where Lee Surrendered 

longed to the men individually, Grant allowed them to re- 
main in the possession of their owners, remarking, "The 
country has been so raided by the two armies, it is doubtful 
whether they will be able to put in a crop . . . without 
the aid of the horses they are now riding." Grant refused to 
humiliate General Lee by requiring the surrender of his 
sword and ordered the Union soldiers to salute the Confed- 
erates as they marched by to stack their arms. As Lee's 
men were without food, Grant sent them twenty-five thou- 
sand rations and absolutely forbade his own soldiers holding 
any celebration which would add to the humiliation of the 
Confederates in their hour of defeat. For, he said, "they are 
our fellow-countrvmen." 



HOW THE WAR WAS FINALLY WON 



437 



With the surrender of Johnston on April twenty-sixth, at 
Durham, North Carohna, and of General Kirby Smith in 
Texas, a month later, the War of Secession came to an end. 

On May tenth President Davis was arrested near Irwins- 
ville, Georgia, by a detachment of Sherman's cavalry. For 
two years he was imprisoned at Fortress Monroe, and then 
released on bail partly through the influence of Horace 
Greeley. The Federal Government knew that he was inno- 
cent of all wrong-doing and that they could not convict him 
of treason or any other crime, and so never brought the 
case to trial. The remaining years of President Davis's life 
were spent in retirement at his home in southern Mississijjpi. 
His death occurred on December 6. 1889, at New Orleans. 

Assassination of President Lincoln. — On April four- 
teenth, while the North was still celebrating its victory, the 
whole country was plunged into grief by the report that at 
ten o'clock that eve- 
ning President Lin- 
coln had been shot 
and mortally wound- 
ed. This terrible 
crime had occurred 
while the president 
and his wife were at 
the theater. During 
the play John Wilkes 
Booth, a half-insane 
actor, entered the 
box in which the president was sitting and shot him in the 
head. Then, leaping to the stage Booth shouted, "Sic semper 
tyrannis!" — the motto of Virginia, meaning "so be it always 
with tyrants." In the confusion following the awful deed 
he ran out through the back door of the theater, mounted 
his waiting horse and escaped to Virginia, where a few days 
later he was killed by United States soldiers as he lay hid- 




Ford's Theater, Where President 
Lincoln Was Assassinated 



438 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

ing in a barn. It was learned that he belonged to a band of 
conspirators who aimed to avenge the downfall of the 
Confederacy by killing the Union leaders. All the other 
members of this conspiracy were arrested and either hanged 
or imprisoned for life. 

President Lincoln died early in the morning of April 15, 
1865. His cruel murder was denounced in the South no less 
indignantly than in the North. The fallen Confederacy had 
lost its most sympathetic friend in the North. Gone was the 
one man able and willing to take up the work of reconstruc- 
tion with "malice toward none." 

What the war accomplished. — The War of Secession 
settled two tremendously important questions. The collapse 
of the Confederate States of America established that the 
United States is "one nation indivisible, with liberty and 
justice for all." No longer could, there be any question as 
to the supremacy of the nation over the individual states. 
Out of the war, too, came a settlement of the slavery ques- 
tion, for by December 18, 1865, enough of the states then 
recognized as part of the Union had ratified the following 
amendment to the Constitution to warrant its being pro- 
claimed as the Thirteenth Amendment : 

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as pun- 
ishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly 
convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place 
subject to their jurisdiction. 

That the war achieved the great purposes of the founders 
of our nation and vindicated their principles let no man 
deny. We rejoice in political, industrial and social progress, 
because we have now no North, no South, no East, no 
West, but "one indestructible union of indestructible states." 



HO\\' THE WAR WAS FINALLY WON 439 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. What is meant by "contraband" of war? Why did the northern 

generals declare slaves to be contraband of war? 

2. A clause in the Constitution of the United States provides that 

no person shall be deprived of property without due process 
of law. By what authority did President Lincoln issue his 
Emancipation Proclamation destro^'ing millions of dollars" 
worth of property in slaves? 

3. For what reasons did the Confederates invade the North? 

"When the battle of Gettysburg was over the tide of the Con- 
federacy had set out to sea forever." Explain why. 

4. Wh}r was Vicksburg called the "Gibraltar of the Confederacy'"? 

5. Describe Sherman's march to the sea. 

6. Give several reasons whj' the Confederacy was finallj' defeated. 

7. Make a biographical study of the following: Jefferson Davis. 

Thomas J. Jackson, Abraham Lincoln. 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. The Battle of Gettysburg. 

2. Hardships suffered bj^ residents of Vicksburg during the siege. 

.\ The C. S. S. Alabama. 

REFERENCES 

1. Southworth's First Book in American History, Chapters 

xxxni, XXXIV. xxxvL 

2. Elson's Side Lights on Avicrican History, Chapter V. 

3. Hart's Romance of the Civil War, pp. 277-282, Z\2-Z17, 342-368. 



^^^.^if^/^^^^^^f^ 







Facsimile of Part of Lincoln's Original Draft of tlie 
Emancipation Proclamation 



CHAPTER XXXII 

WHAT THE WAR COST 

The sacrifice of men and money. — War is the great 
despoiler of nations. A destroyer of all that life holds dear, 
its actual cost can not be estimated. The greatest loss to 
the state is the destruction of its man power by death, 




Graves of Soldiers Killed in the Fighting around Richmond 

crippling and permanently disabling through wounds and 
disease. Next comes the draining of its treasury and the 
exhaustion of its credit to equip and maintain the army and 
navy and provide munitions. An enormous destruction of 
property in the fighting area is, of course, inevitable. And 
finally, there is the grief and privations of the dear ones 
left at home, and the intense suffering of the families of 
those who never return. 

440 



WHAT THE WAR COST 441 

At the close of the War of Secession the Union forces 
numbered about one milHon — the largest number under 
arms at any one time — and during the four years preceding 
there had been nearly two million additional enlistments. 
Three- fourths of all these soldiers had entered the service 
under twenty-one years of age. The death list totaled 
359,528, and the estimated number of crippled and disabled 
was four hundred thousand. 

Many records of the Confederacy were destroyed in the 
burning of Richmond, therefore the exact number of its 
enlistments and casualties is unknown. It is thought, how- 
ever, that three- fourths of the whole man power of the 
South served in the army at some time, and that approxi- 
mately 259,000 lost their lives. No estimate of the crippled 
and permanently disabled can be made. 

In July. 1865, the debt of the United States was about 
$2,800,000,000 and most of it had been incurred in connec- 
tion with the war. Taxes which had been levied and ex- 
pended by the nation, states, counties and cities to aid in 
prosecuting it added $2,000,000,000 more to the North's 
huge bill. The cost of the war to the Confederacy was 
$1,500,000,000 on a gold basis, but to this must be added 
$2,000,000,000 more to cover the value of its slaves. This 
makes a direct cost to the two belligerents of $8,000,000,000. 
Allowing for interest paid on the national debt, restoration 
of property destroyed, pensions, business losses and lessened 
production occasioned by the reduction in man power, the 
total cost was probably $25,000,000,000, or fifty times the 
entire wealth of the nation when it first came into existence. 

How the two governments financed the war. — Both 
governments resorted to similar means to finance the war 
—the selling of bonds and issuance of paper money — but 
the United States, with its vaster resources, found it much 
easier. Both in the North and South gold and silver coins 
disappeared from circulation as the war progressed, for 



442 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

people hid them away, not knowing what might happen. 
The only money left was the currency issued by state banks, 
which very early suspended specie payment and refused to 
redeem their notes. Postage stamps were used in place of 
small coins. 

In 1861, the Northern Congress enacted a law levying new- 
taxes, which l)rought home to almost every person the mean- 
ing of taxation, for there was a special tax on nearly every- 
thing he ate, drank or wore. This law provided taxes on 
land, on incomes exceeding eight hundred dollars, on 
jewelry, pianos, horses and carriages. Every kind of docu- 
ment from receipts, notes and deeds to insurance policies, 
steamship tickets, mortgages and leases had to bear a special 
stamp costing from one cent to two hundred dollars. In 
1865 these stamps produced revenue amounting to about 
$300,000,000. Bonds running for twenty, thirty and forty 
years and bearing six and seven per cent, interest were sold 
in an amount exceeding $2,000,000,(X)0, and vast quantities 
of paper money were issued. There were $375,000,000 
worth of interest bearing notes and more than that amount 
of notes not bearing interest, which from their color were 
called "greenbacks." To take the place of small coins which 
had been driven from circulation, small-sized notes, pop- 
ularly called "shinplasters," were issued. The only secur- 
ity behind these "promises to pay" was the people's confi- 
dence that the government would be able to redeem them 
in coin at some future time. As hope of winning the war 
grew less, all of them depreciated in value. By the sum- 
mer of 1864 United States bonds sold for less than half 
their face value, and it took three dollars in currency to 
equal the purchasing power of one gold dollar. Still the 
government required this depreciated paper money to be 
accepted as "legal tender" for all debts except interest on 
its own bonds and tariff duties. 

From the beginning of the war the Confederate Gov- 



WHAT THE WAR COST 



443 




Facsimile of Currency Issued by tht 
Bank of South Carolina in 1861 




emment issued bonds and paper money. Before the block- 
ading became so tight as to make it impossible, shipments 
of cotton and tobacco brought in more than enough foreign 
gold to pay for the munitions and supplies purchased 
abroad, and there was some in circulation. With the shutting 
ofif of these exports 
all coin disappeared, 
but the soldiers, 
merchants and plant- 
ers were so confident 
the Confederacy 
would win that they 
willingly accepted its 
currency in payment 
for their services 
and supplies. Much 
of this money even- 
tually found its way back to the treasury in exchange for 
l)onds. Later, as the Confederate armies began to sufifer 
reverses, the value of these notes depreciated greatly, and 
prices rose accordingly — flour was two hundred and fifty 
dollars a barrel and tea thirty-five dollars a pound. Taxes 
were made payable in farm produce like corn, bacon and 
wheat, and finally a direct levy of one-tenth of all foods pro- 
duced was made to supply the needs of the army. By 1864 
so great dissatisfaction had been occasioned by the onerous 
taxes and compulsory military service that many good 
southerners were bitter toward President Davis, and were 
urging that peace be made with the North. 

The new national bank system. — Since President Jack- 
son's difficulty with the United States Bank all currenc}' 
had been issued by state banks. Although after the panic 
of 1837 the states had imposed restrictions on the issuance 
of such money, still many of the notes did not pass at par. 
In 1863, as a part of its war financing. Congress established 



444 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

a new system of national banks. These banks were required 
to buy government bonds to the amount of one-tenth of 
their capital, and deposit them with the treasury at Wash- 
ington. They were then authorized to issue "national bank 
notes" up to ninety per cent, of the par value of the bonds 
on deposit. In order to eliminate state bank notes and to en- 
courage the banks to become part of the new system, pro- 
hibitive taxes were laid on their currency. 

War times in the North. — Business went on in the 
North much as before the war, except that the younger men 
disappeared from farm, shop and factory, and women and 
girls largely took their places. The government was spend- 
ing enormous sums for uniforms, shoes, blankets, tents, 
guns and ammunition. To supply its needs factories were 
kept running at full speed and wages were high. Every- 
body was busy and apparently prosperous in spite of the 
high prices which prevailed. 

Ladies' Aid Societies were organized all over the country 
and met regularly to knit and sew, scrape lint, fold ban- 
dages, prepare jellies and other delicacies, and pack boxes 
of books and magazines for the "boys in blue" in camp and 
hospital. In the cities "Sanitary Fairs" were held fre- 
quently by churches and other organizations. At these 
home-made ice-cream, cake and candy were sold, meals 
served and musical programs and amateur theatricals ren- 
dered. The proceeds were used to send doctors, nurses 
and medicine to the front, and to maintain hospitals. Re- 
cruiting officers were stationed in every village. Patriotic 
speakers addressed mass meetings and urged the young men 
to enlist. Each new company of volunteers was sent off 
to the front amid cheers and stirring music. As the war 
went on the i^ublication of the enormous casualty lists, and 
the return of the wounded and crippled cast a gloom over 
every community. This was the war as the North knew it. 

War times in the South. — Serious as were the losses 



WHAT THE WAR COST 



445 



and privations of the North, it knew nothing of actual suf- 
fering when compared with the South. Three- fourths of 
all males over sixteen years of age eventually left their 
homes for the battle-field, and of these one out of five never 
returned. Even after the Union armies had overrun the 
country most of the slaves remained on the plantations and 
continued loyal to "ol' Massa and Missus." Women and 
girls who had never known the ineaning of hard work took 




The Burning of Richmond 



the places of men in shops and as overseers on the plan- 
tations. 

In the North little was known of the devastation caused 
by war except in a small area around Chambersburg and in 
southern Ohio and Indiana, where Morgan's men made 
their bold raids. On the other hand much of the South 
became a vast battle-ground over which two hostile armies 
drove each other back and forth, leaving a waste of trampled 
fields of shell-shattered and blackened ruins. In many sec- 
tions, to women, children and slaves, the word "Yankee" 
meant the plundering of peaceful plantations, the destruc- 
tion of growing crops, the slaughter or theft of all live stock 



446 OUR COUXTKVS HISTORY 

and the burning of buildings. The approach of the Union 
army was a signal for the concealment of valuables and 
hasty flight to regions still within the Confederate lines. 
Here, with true southern hospitality, a place was always 
found for the unfortunate "refugees." They were made 
welcome to a share of the meager supplies that remained, 
even though they consisted of nothing more than sweet po- 
tatoes, corn bread and sorghum molasses, with bran for cof- 
fee, and raspberry leaves or sassafras root for tea. 

Business was at a standstill. Stocks of goods when sold 
out could not be replenished because of the blockade and the 
breaking down of the railways and other means of transpor- 
tation. In time there was little inducement for opening the 
stores, since the merchants who had goods became unwilling 
to part with them for currency so nearly worthless that it 
was a common saying it took a wheelbarrow load of it 
to buy a hat. When dry goods and articles of wearing ap- 
parel could no longer be obtained, all sorts of makeshifts 
were resorted to. In many homes the old spinning-wheels 
and hand looms which had been used years before, were 
got out and on them was produced a coarse cloth to meet 
the family needs. Hats were made from plaited straw and 
split palmetto leaves ; shoes from leather of old carriage 
tops, valises, saddles and pocketbooks, with wooden soles 
stripped with pieces of light metal. Salt for curing meat 
had to be obtained by evaporating sea water, and where it 
could not be had, wood ashes made a poor substitute. Paper 
became so scarce that newspapers were printed on the back 
side of wall-paper with ink made from pokeberry juice and 
oak balls. 

Southern women, like those of the North, made wines and 
jellies to relieve the sull'ering of the sick and wounded far 
away at the front. In their devotion they even cut up their 
household linen to make shirts and bandages. History re- 
cords but few such instances of martvrdom for a cause as 



WHAT Tin-: WAR COST 447 

that of the South for the Confederacy. For four long years, 
full of danger, fatigue and famine, the "boys in gray" 
fought against ever increasing odds for what conscience 
told them to be their duty, and meanwhile the "folks back 
home" suffered untold anguish because of inability to pro- 
vide them with the comforts which their valor so merited. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. Explain why war within recent years has become so much more 

expensive than it was a few decades ago? 

2. "Even the most glorious wars are bad wars." Explain the mean- 

ing of this statement. In addition to the toll in men and 
monej', what are other expensive items in the cost of war? 

3. Until the World War was fought, the War of Secession was 

considered as being one of the greatest struggles of modern 
times. Show that when the latter is compared with the 
former, it was but a "small fight." 

4. Explain the following: government bond, greenbacks, shin- 

plasters, income tax, tax in kind, and legal tender. 

5. Explain why it is that when paper money begins to depreciate it 

works a greater hardship on the poor than on any other class. 

6. Compare the Confederate Government's method of financing 

the war with that of the Federal Government. 

7. What are the objections to having the individual states issue 

paper money? Give the chief features of the National Bank 
Act of 1863. 

8. Why did the War of Secession cause so much more suffering in 

the South than in the Nortli ? 

9. Describe the privations, hardships and suffering that the south- 

ern women endured for the cause of the Confederacy. 

SUBJECTS ]"()R rURTHKR STUDV 

1. Wh}- tlie World W'nv cost so inucli more tlian liic War of Se- 

cession. 

2. Methods of financing tlie War of Secession. 

REFERENCES 

1. Elson's Side Lights on Awerican History, Chapter \'I. 

2. Hart's Romance of the Civil IJ'ar, pp. 416-418. 



. CHAPTER XXXIII 

RECONSTRUCTION DAYS 

Andreiv Johnson, President, 186^-1869 
Ulysses S. Grant, President, 1 86(9-187"/ 

Conditions in the South. — When the weary Confeder- 
ate soldier reached home after his parole, he found little 
as he had left it, except the loyalty and love of his dear 
ones. To cheer him in the hour of defeat, he had as Henry 
W. Grady, the great Georgian, expressed it, "His home in 
ruins, his farm devastated, his slaves free, his stock killed, 
his barn empty, his trade destroyed, his money worthless 
. . . his people without law or legal status, his comrades 
slain, and the burden of others heavy on his shoulders. 
Crushed by defeat, his very traditions gone, without money, 
credit, employment, material." Union cavalry were still 
scouring the country looking for Confederate leaders. As 
these were arrested, they were sent to forts and confined 
until the Federal authorities could decide what to do with 
them. 

The negroes were intoxicated with their new sense of 
independence. Accustomed to the care and oversight of 
their masters, they did not understand freedom. Many re- 
mained on the plantations to work for wages, but the more 
adventurous wandered to the towns and cities, and were 
soon reduced to begging and stealing. Crowded by neces- 
sity into shanties they contracted malignant diseases and 
died by the thousands. Without money and without credit 
the planters found it difficult to procure the live stock and 

448 



RECONSTRUCTION DAYS 449 

implements necessary for putting in crops, and consequently 
work for the freedmen was scarce. As a result the re- 
turns were poor and distress was great. In some of the 
states, notably Georgia, conditions were so serious that pub- 
lic aid had to be given both whites and freedmen. 

The reconstruction problem. — During the war the Fed- 
eral troops maintained a military government over the parts 
of the South under their control. By 1863, however, the 
problem of governing the conquered territory had become a 
deep concern to President Lincoln and the Federal Con- 
gress. "If the Southern States had never possessed the right 
of secession they are still a part of the Union," some argued. 
Why could not the whole matter be settled by just allowing 
them to elect new state governments and members of Con- 
gress in the usual way ? But there was a feeling on the part 
of many that those who had been secessionists could not be 
trusted to hold public offices. Until 1861 the rich planters' 
aristocracy had furnished most of the candidates for office, 
both state and Federal, and all of them had taken a promi- 
nent part in the Confederacy. 

What Lincoln had done toward reconstruction. — 
Lincoln held that, as the Union could not be dissolved, 
the seceding states had only made a vain attempt to leave 
it, and should be allowed to renew their old relations with- 
out delay or difficulty. He promised that a state might re- 
establish its government whenever one-tenth of the voters 
in the election of 1860 should have taken the oath of loy- 
alty to the United States. As Congress had the sole right 
to determine its own membership, Lincoln could do no more 
than urge it to seat such senators and representatives as 
these states should then elect. In December, 1863, he issued 
a Proclamation of Amnesty, in which pardon was offered 
Confederates who would take an oath to uphold the Consti- 
tution, the acts of Congress and the Emancipation Procla- 
mation. Officeholders under the Confederacy and former 



450 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

Federal officials who had joined the secessionists alone were 
excepted. Congress refused to accept the president's plan, 
and when delegations from Arkansas, Louisiana and Ten- 
nessee appeared, it declined to seat them (1864). 

What Congress thought about reconstruction. — ]\I em- 
bers like Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania, and Charles 
Sumner, of Massachusetts, demanded the punishment of 
the South. Asserting that the old southern leaders could 
not be trusted to deal fairly with the freedmen, they 
proposed to eliminate them from politics by disfran- 
chisement. [Moreover, they insisted that negroes be allowed 
to vote and hold office, although outside of New England 
and New York, in no part of the North did free negroes 
possess these rights prior to 1860. Eventually, President 
Lincoln himself favored granting suffrage to some of the 
freedmen, "for instance, the very intelligent and especially 
those who have fought so valiantly in our ranks." 

President Johnson and his policy. — Andrew Johnson 
was born in North Carolina of jjoor white parentage. He 
had no toleration for slavery and believed secession a plot 
engineered by slaveholders in their own interests- against 
those of the small farmer. W'hen he was eighteen years of 
age, Johnson's family moved to eastern Tennessee, with all 
their belongings in a two-wheeled cart drawn by a blind 
pony. He did not learn to read until after his marriage. 
Under the tutorship of his wife he acquired a fair educa- 
tion and rose to political prominence. Johnson was the only 
United States senator from a seceding state who refused 
to resign his seat in Congress. When the death of President 
Lincoln elevated him to the presidency, he naturally desired 
to see all political power in the South pass into the hands 
of the poor non-slaveholding whites. To accomplish this 
he favored the disfranchisement of former slaveholders on 
the ground that they had been "rebels." He was willing 
for President Davis and other Confederate leaders to be put 



RECONSTRUCTION DAYS 451 

to death. On the other hand, Johnson was not deeply con- 
cerned in seeing the freedmen given any political rights, 
for he knew how unfitted they were to take part in the gov- 
ernment. 

With Johnson's administration began the work of recon- 
struction. He raised the blockade, restored the mail service, 
reestablished the United States courts, appointed provi- 
sional governors for the several states, and issued a new 
amnesty proclamation not so liberal as Lincoln's had been. 
The governors were instructed to have all white men, quali- 
lied to vote, choose delegates to a constitutional convention. 
When these delegates convened they were to draft new con- 
stitutions in conformity with the president's plan of re- 
construction, as follows:' 

(1) Nullify the Ordinance of Secession. 

(2) Ratify the Thirteenth Amendment to the United 
States Constitution. 

(3) Repudiate the Confederate debt. 

(4) Provide for the election of congressmen. 

Congress objects to the president's plan. — When Con- 
gress met in December, 1865, newly-elected members from 
the several Southern States were refused admission. Con- 
gress claimed the sole right to determine by what measures 
reconstruction could be accomplished, and accused the presi- 
dent of having exceeded his authority. Furious at this, 
Johnson asserted that it had no more right to refuse to seat 
the southerners than their states had to secede. In his 
anger he spoke so contemptuously of Congress that the Re- 
publican majority turned against him. As this majority 
consisted of more than two-thirds of each house the presi- 
dent was shorn of all influence, for no sooner did he veto 
an obnoxious bill than Congress made it a law by the nec- 
essary two-thirds vote. 

Congress worked out a plan of reconstruction designed 



452 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



ostensibly to protect the freedmen, but really to punish the 
South. Five military districts were formed of all the se- 
ceding states except Tennessee, and they were administered 
by generals. Soldiers were stationed in each to enforce the 
acts of Congress. One of these acts provided that before 




Military Districts Created b}^ Congress for the 
Government of the South 



civil government could be* reestablished delegates selected 
by those who had taken the oath of loyalty should meet in 
convention and draft new constitutions, giving suffrage to 
all males, white or black, over twenty-one years of age, ex- 
cept those who had served the Confederacy in the recent 
war. 

Another, the Civil Rights Bill, authorized negroes to bring 
suits in the courts, and required the military forces of the 
South to see that the freedmen were given all their rights. 
The ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Consti- 
tution had abolished slavery in Kentucky and Delaware, 
where it had still been lawful. Congress now proposed the 
Fourteenth Amendment, with provisions as follows : 



RECONSTRUCTION DAYS 453 

(1) All persons born or naturalized in the United States 
are citizens. 

(2) No act of a state shall interfere with one's per- 
sonal rights. 

(3) The right to hold any political or military office shall 
be removed from all persons who had taken an oath to sup- 
port the Constitution of the United States and then joined 
the Confederacy and served its government. 

(4) All debts contracted in support of the Union shall 
be paid ; those incurred for the Confederacy repudiated. 

(5) Representation in the House of Representatives shall 
be reduced in the same proportion any state may refuse the 
right of suffrage to males over twenty-one years old. 

Had not Congress required the Southern States to ratify 
this amendment before restoring their rights to them, the 
necessary three-fourths vote could not have been secured. 
Ohio and other Northern States, which not only still denied 
negroes the right of suft'rage and of testifying in court 
against whites, but even refused to allow their children to 
attend the public schools, objected strongly to it. 

The Freedmen's Bureau. — The freedmen remaining 
on the plantations were helpless like children and were cared 
for by the former owners to the best of their ability. 
Alarmed by the wave of crime which had followed the 
swarming of idle negroes in the towns, the legislatures, con- 
vened by President Johnson's governors, passed "vagrant 
laws" requiring all negroes to accept employment at custo- 
mary wages and to keep steadily at work. Failing to do this 
they were arrested and fined and, usually unable to pay their 
fines, w^ere compelled by the courts to work them out in the 
service of the planters. Negro children were liable to be 
"bound out" until they were old enough to be self-support- 
ing. 

In 1865 the Freedmen's Bureau was established to look 
after the protection and welfare of the former slaves. This 
Bureau, located at Washington, employed agents in the 



454 



OUR COUXTRV'S HISTORY 



South to take charge of wandering negroes and place 
them on farms cut from lands which had been con- 
fiscated during the war. The needy were given food, 
clothing and fuel ; and the sick medical attention ; schools 
were opened for the instruction of young and old. Ef- 
forts, too, were made to adjust any disagreements be- 
tween them and their white neighbors. In theory it was 
a good measure, but one that worked out very badly. In- 
stead of becoming self-supporting, the freedmen believed 
that freedom meant a life of idleness, and refused to work. 
Some of their new-found political friends started a rumor 
that "forty acres and a mule" were to be given every one 
of them and many hovered around the offices of the Bureau 
agents waiting for theirs. The Bureau came to an end in 
1872. 

Result of military rule in the South. — As soon as the 
policy of Congress became known, many northerners 
hastened south to take paj-t in the new governments which 
would be set up. They were called "carpetbaggers," be- 
cause they were supposed to have brought all their pos- 
sessions in valises made of 
carpet, such as travelers car- 
ried in those days. Alost of 
the intelligent and honest 
sovitherners had served the 
Confederacy and so were dis- 
franchised. Legislatures were 
elected by the freedmen, who 
owned no property and were 
even unable to care for them- 
selves. The white voters were 
largely a low element called 
"scalawags" and the carpet- 
baggers from the North. The 
negroes were told that if the 




From ail 



"The Honorable Mr. Callaway 
votes 'yes' " 

An Incident in the Alabama 
Reconstruction Legislature 



RECOXSTRUCTION DAYS 



455 



Democrats got control of the government they would be 
made slaves again, and that the Republicans were their only 
friends. In most of the states a majority of the legisla- 
tures were negroes. Although the carpetbaggers held the 
chief ofifices. hundreds of minor positions went to illiterate 
negroes. In South Carolina, it is said, there were even two 
hundred black judges who could neither read nor write. 

With the aid of negro politicians, the carpetbaggers 
bribed the legis- _ — — , 



KiVi pay fcjy^rrfc/- o/Atr ^' 




'Z'- 



.ftjrfu»t»^wn*.pasie</ 1,^ Iht HOUSE OF RljjPKESE.VT^Tri-E: 



KESE.VT4TrVES 



Facsimile of an Order on the State 

Treasurer of South CaroHna to Paj' 

the Governor a Gratuity 



latures to vote 
them large sal- 
aries. Millions 
of dollars were 
spent for sup- 
plies, buildings 
and public im- 
j)rovcments, and 
the contracts 
were awarded 
at scandalously high prices so as to give the officials a share 
of the profits. To procure this money enormous issues of 
bonds were sold and huge taxes were levied. Most of the 
property was owned by the impoverished ex-slaveholders 
and when they were unable to pay their taxes it w-as seized 
and sold at auction. 

One by one the states met the requirements imposed by 
Congress and were readmitted to the Union — Tennessee in 
1866, Virginia, the Carolinas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Florida 
and Alabama in 1868, and before the end of 1870 the re- 
maining four. Influenced by their vicious new-found 
friends, the negroes became more and more insolent toward 
their white neighbors. These people, who were making a 
hard struggle to get on their feet again, became greatly em- 
bittered, as they saw their Southland being impoverished 
and themselves, the property owners, powerless to stop the 



456 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

robbery. Race hatred was rapidly supplanting the sym- 
pathetic feeling for the freedmen which had existed at first. 

President Johnson is impeached. — The quarrel between 
President Johnson and Congress became constantly more 
intense. Practically all the important reconstruction meas- 
ures were disapproved by the president and had to be 
passed over his veto. In retaliation he began removing from 
office prominent officials taking the side of Congress, and 
although presidents had made removals at will ever since 
Jackson's time, Congress regarded his action as an abuse 
of power. Resentful of the epithets he was using toward it, 
and angered by the friendship he had established with the 
Democratic members, in March, 1867, Congress passed the 
Tenure of Office Act. This forbade the removal, without the 
consent of the Senate, of any official whose appointment it 
had confirmed. In August President Johnson suspended 
Secretary Stanton from his position at the head of the War 
Department. When Congress met in December the Senate 
refused to concur in the suspension, and in defiance of the 
Tenure of Office Act he then dismissed Stanton and nom- 
inated General Thomas for the place. Thereupon the 
House of Representatives impeached him for misdemeanors 
in office (February, 1868). According to the Constitution 
the Senate sat as a high court presided over by the chief 
justice of the Supreme Court. It requires the consent of 
two-thirds of the senators to convict and the penalty is 
removal from office. The trial lasted two months and al- 
though more than two-thirds of the senators were Repub- 
licans, enough of them were against conviction to save 
Johnson by one vote. 

The Ku Klux Klan. — Brave, intelligent white men who 
had endured the sacrifices of four long years of war for 
conscience' sake would not forever consent to the tyranny 
of carpetbaggers, scalawags and ex-slaves. Wherever it 
was possible they secured control of the state government 



RECONSTRUCTION DAYS 



457 



by peaceful means. In states where negroes vastly outnum- 
bered the whites measures were taken to intimidate them 
and prevent their voting. In 1866 some young men of Pu- 
laski, Tennessee, formed a social club, called the Ku Klux 
Klan. This developed into an organization for controlling 
the negroes in that locality and from there spread over much 
of the South. Circulating a rumor that the ghosts of Con- 
federate soldiers were abroad for vengeance, the Ku Klux 
Klan rode over the country in gangs at all hours of the 
night. Wearing hideous masks and ghostly robes, mounted 
on horses also draped in white, they would visit the cabins 
of the freedmen and terrify the inmates by many tricks and 
devices, such as asking 
for a drink of water and 
gulping it downbybuck- 
etfuls with the aid of 
concealed rubber bags. 
Warnings with many 
strange signs were placed 
on cabin doors, threat- 
ening the negroes with 
death if they did not 
keep away from the polls 
or leave the country. By 
these methods a degree 
of peace and order was 
secured, but unfortunately gangs of ruffians took to calling 
themselves members of the Klan, and in its name seized upon 
particularly obnoxious politicians, both black and white, 
maltreating and murdering them. The carpetbaggers and 
scalawags appealed for protection to General Grant, who 
had become president in 1869. Grant sent Federal troops to 
rout the "dens" of the Ku Klux Klan, but most of the real 
ones had disappeared as suddenly as they arose. Their 
work was accomplished and the negroes had been made to 




"The above cut represents the fate in 
store for those great pests of Southern 
society — the carpetbagger and scalawag 
— if found in Dixie land after the break 
of day on the 4th of March next." 

Facsimile of a Ku Klux Notice Pub- 
lished in the Tuscaloosa (Ala.) Inde- 
pendent Monitor in 1868 



458 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

understand that their best interests lay in Hving peaceably 
with their white neighbors and keeping out of politics. The 
presence of the troops, however, greatly irritated the south- 
erners and delayed the readjustments essential to recon- 
struction. 

The Fifteenth Amendment and the Force Bill. — The 
Ku Klux movement was largely responsible for the Fif- 
teenth Amendment to the Constitution. Alarmed by the 
success the southerners were meeting in suppressing the 
ignorant negroes and driving out their carpetbag and scala- 
wag friends, the Republicans proposed to amend the Con- 
stitution once more. This new amendment, the ratification 
of which was proclaimed in 1870. provided that : 

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any 
state, on account of race, color, or previous condition of 
servitude. 

Virginia, Georgia, Texas and Mississippi were required to 
ratify it before they were readmitted. 

In 1871, in an efifort to bolster up the carpetbag govern- 
ment, Congress enacted the so-called "Force Bill." which 
made it an offense, punishable by fine and imprisonment, to 
prevent freedmen from voting, or to fail to count their 
votes. The Amnesty Act of 1872, which restored full citi- 
zenship to all southerners except a few hundred ex-Con- 
federate leaders, soon made this law a "dead letter." The 
government quickly passed into the hands of those alone 
competent to reconstruct the South— her own white men. 
but there was no longer a small governing class as in ante- 
bellum days. 

Old parties split and new ones arise. — The reconstruc- 
tion of all the seceding states had been accomplished before 
the campaign of 1872, and the method to employ could no 
longer be the issue. One wing of the Republicans, however. 



RECOXS'IKUCTIOX DAVS 459 

favored the withdrawal of troops from the South and am- 
nesty for all the ex-Confederates. They called themselves 
"Liberal Republicans" and nominated as their candidate 
Horace Greeley, the former abolitionist leader and signer 
of Jefferson Davis's bail bond. Later Grant was i-enomi- 
nated by the regular Republicans and easily reelected ; but 
Congress Avas forced to pass the Amnesty Act. 

Persons interested in bettering the condition of the Avork- 
ing classes organized a Labor party and nominated candi- 
dates. Its platform advocated an "eight-hour law" for labor 
and the exclusion of Chinese emigrants. Their standard 
of living being so much lower than that of American work- 
ing men, these Orientals would work for less money and 
were keeping wages down, especially along the Pacific coast. 

By 1860 seven other states had followed the example of 
Maine and passed prohibition laws. At the close of the war 
most of these laws w^ere repealed and the liquor industry de- 
veloped rapidly. Alillions of dollars were invested in brew- 
eries and distilleries, and thousands of saloons for retailing 
drink were established. To oppose this growing evil the 
temperance societies urged both Republicans and Democrats 
to insert prohibition "planks" in their party platforms. 
Failing in this, their leaders now formed the Prohibition 
party and i)laced candidates in the field pledged to nation- 
wide prohibition through a constitutional amendment. 

Foreign affairs. — The United States had not overlooked 
the violation of the Monroe Doctrine by Napoleon III, and 
as soon as the ^^'ar of Secession was over President Johnson 
despatched troops to the Mexican border and notified him 
to withdraw his French army at once and cease coercing 
the Mexican people. Not anxious for a war Avith the 
United States, Napoleon yielded, and by 1867 the last 
French soldier had left Alexico. The Mexicans had already 
rebelled against the rule of their unfortunate emperor. 
Maximilian was betrayed by trusted officials, tried by court 



460 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

martial for treason, convicted and shot, and Mexico once 
more restored her so-called republican government. 

The purchase of Alaska. — The same year that wit- 
nessed the withdrawal of the French troops from Mexico 
saw also the purchase of Alaska. Russia had long desired 
to sell her American possessions as she could never extend 
them southward. Since she had shown a friendly disposi- 
tion during the late war. Congress finally agreed "to pay 
$7,200,000 for 590,000 square miles of icebergs and polar 
bears" — a reckless extravagance in popular opinion. The 
new territory was called Alaska, from the same name 
given it by the natives, meaning "great land." Inhabited 
by only a few Indians and Eskimos, the new territory ap- 
peared worthless, except for the sealskins and other furs 
to be obtained there. The investment proved a profitable 
one, however, for Alaskan exports of furs, fish and gold 
exceeded $600,000,000 in the next fifty years. 

Treaty with Great Britain. — In 1871 a treaty was 
negotiated with Great Britain by which she agreed to sub- 
mit to a court of arbitration the claims of the United States, 
for an indemnity on account of the damage done by Con- 
federate cruisers built in English shipyards. A year later 
these "Alabama Claims" were finally settled by an award of 
$15,500,000 to the United States, which the British Govern- 
ment paid. In this treaty it was also agreed that the Cana- 
dian boundary dispute should be left to the German 
emperor for decision, and that a joint commission should be 
appointed to settle the disagreement of Canadian and United 
States fishermen regarding their fishing rights on the 
"banks" of Newfoundland. This treaty showed how easy 
it is to avoid war when two nations desire to be just in their 
conduct toward each other, and to preserve amicable rela- 
tions. 



RECONSTRUCTION DAYS 461 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. Compare the conditions that the Confederate soldier found on 

his return home at the close of the war with those that met 
the Union soldier. What made the conditions in the South so 
much worse than in the North ? 

2. What makes military government so objectionable to people? 

3. What is meant by amnesty? How does it dififer from pardon? 

4. What was meant by reconstruction of the seceding states? 

5. What was Lincoln's plan of reconstruction? Would behave been 

able to put through his plan had he lived ? What was the con- 
gressional plan of reconstruction? Was this plan designed to 
protect the f reedmen or to punish the South ? What was tlie 
greatest blunder made by the government in inaugurating the 
plan of reconstruction? 

6. Was the Freedmen's Bureau a positive good or a liindrance to 

the negro? Explain it. 

7. Could Congress enforce that part of the Fourteenth Amend- 

ment that provides for the reduction of representatives in the 
House in the same proportion that any state refuses the right 
of suffrage to males over twenty-one years of age? How 
could Congress tell when a state refused the right of suf- 
frage to those who failed to vote ? Was ratification of the Four- 
teenth Amendment regular as amendments are made to-day? 

'^. Who were the carpetbaggers and scalawags? 

9. What is meant by impeachment? How is tlie president im- 
peached ? Was it fortunate for the country that President 
Johnson was not found guilty? Explain your answer. 

10. What made the Ku Klux Klan so effective in regulating the 

negroes? Describe it. 

11. Read the Fifteenth Amendment and explain how some Southern 

States, in spite of it, keep unfitted negroes from voting. 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. The Ku Klux Klan. 

2. The Freedmen's Bureau. 

REFERENCES 

1. Southworth's First Book in American History, Chapter XXXV. 

2. Garner's Reconstruction in Mississippi. 

3. Elson's Side Lights on American History, Vol. II, Chapters VII, 

VIII. IX. 

4. Sparks' The Men Who Made the Nation, Chapter XII. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 
THE RISE OF THE NEW SOUTH 

Rutherford B. Hayes, President, i8y/-i88i 

The political reaction of 1874. — Reconstruction and 
war gave way to other issues in the congressional campaigns 
of 1874. Much political corruption under the Republican 
regime had come to light. The carpetbag government in the 
South had become notorious. Congressmen had been ac- 
cused of accepting bribes in connection with grants of 
money for the building of railroads. Congress had passed 
the so-called "Salary Grab Act," doubling the president's sal- 
ary, and increasing that of its own members from five thou- 




"A Xicc Family Part}" 
A politic.il caiiuoii i)nl)lislied during Grant's .iduiiiiibtratiun 

462 



THE RISE OF THE NEW SOUTH 463 

sand dollars to seven thousand five hundred. Political influ- 
ence alone would secure one a position in the government 
service. Although President Grant had been honest, he put 
too much confidence in his friends and some of his ap- 
pointees had defrauded the government. The old Republican 
campaign cry, "We vote as we shot," could not stop the 
tidal wave of popular discontent, and the Democrats secured 
an overwhelming majority in the congressional elections of 
1874. This was possible because the "Conservatives," as the 
Democrats in the South were called, now had control of 
their state governments ; from most of the states in the lower 
South solid Democratic delegations were sent to Washing- 
ton. 

The election of President Hayes. — The presidential 
campaign of 1876 was marked by much bitter feeling. The 
Republican platform pledged reform in appointing govern- 
ment employees and opposed granting any more public lands 
to private corporations. Governor Rutherford B. Hayes, of 
Ohio, was the nominee. The Democrats chose Samuel J. 
Tilden, of New York, who had won prominence through his 
efifort to reform New York City politics. Tilden had fought 
to a finish the notorious "Tweed Ring," a political organiza- 
tion that had looted the city treasury of millions of dollars. 
He and his party advocated a thorough "housecleaning" by 
which they meant an investigation of the government so as 
to uncover fraud, and the dismissal of faithless and incom- 
petent officeholders. The recent act of Congress providing 
that the government should redeem in coin all "greenbacks" 
presented at the Treasury, and the exposure of the "Whisky 
Ring," a conspiracy of distillers and public officials who had 
defrauded the government of two million dollars in a single 
year, threatened to elect Tilden. 

The vote was so close that on the morning after the 
election the Republican press conceded that the Democrats 
won. Later both sides claimed the election and the re- 



464 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



suit hinged on the returns from Florida, South Carolina 
and Louisiana, which states still had Republican govern- 
ments. When the returns from the different districts in 
these states were received at the several capitals, charges 
were made that in some of them voters had been kept away 
from the polls by intimidation. The "returning boards," 
which had sole power to issue certificates of election to the 
electors, threw out enough votes to give the Republicans a 




nUayes 
□ Tilden 
■I Tern^ories- No Vote 

Distribution of PZlectoral Votes in the Election of 1876 



majority. The Democrats at once protested that the election 
of Hayes was being stolen and demanded that the electoral 
votes of all three states be rejected. Were this done Tilden 
would win for he had a majority of the uncontested votes. 
Under the Constitution the electoral votes are counted by 
the two houses of Congress in joint session. At this time 
the Senate was Repviblican and the House of Representa- 
tives Democratic, so Congress was in a deadlock over the 
question of counting or rejecting the contested votes. At 
last it was agreed that a decision should be made by a joint 
High Commission of five senators, five representatives and 



THE RISE OF THE NEW SOUTH 465 

five justices of the Supreme Court. Congress appointed 
four of these justices and these four were to choose the 
fifth. It was expected that Justice Davis, who was not 
ahgned with either party, would be selected. Davis, how- 
ever, was elected senator from Illinois, just at that time, 
and a Republican member was selected instead. The Com- 
mission, consisting of eight Republicans and seven Demo- 
crats, only two days before time for the inaugviration, by a 
strictly party vote declared Hayes elected. The Democrats 
considered they had been robbed of the presidency, but their 
respect for law and order was so great that they accepted 
the decision quietly. 

The end of carpetbag government. — One of the first 
acts of President Hayes was to withdraw the United States 
troops, which had been bolstering up the Republican gov- 
ernments in Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina (1877). 
In all three states two sets of officials had claimed to be 
legally elected, but only a short time before, although Re- 
publican, the Supreme Court of Florida had given the offices 
in that state to the Democrats. With the withdrawal of the 
United States troops from Louisiana and South Carolina 
the carpetbaggers took their departure and the government 
passed into the hands of the Democrats, and the negro out 
of politics for good. The freedmen now realized their de- 
pendence on their white neighbors and settled down to live 
peaceably with them. 

The new president showed his fairness and courage by 
appointing, in the face of bitter opposition, a southern 
Democrat and ex-Confederate officer, David M. Key, as 
postmaster-general. 

Improvement of the Mississippi River. — The current of 
the Mississippi carries annually great quantities of mud and 
sand to the Gulf of Mexico. The deposit of this had caused 
the river to form five mouths, or passes, by which it poured 
its waters into the Gulf. When the current reached these 



466 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

passes, it slowed up, causing a large part of the mud and 
sand to sink to the bottom and form "bars," which gradu- 
ally filled up the channel and obstructed navigation. The 
Federal Government and that of the state of Louisiana had 
both expended large sums of money, dredging these passes ; 
but by 1875 a channel for large vessels was being kept open 
with difficulty. 

Captain James B. Eads, who had recently built the first 
bridge across the Mississippi at St. Louis, had found by 
observation that where the river narrowed the current be- 
came swifter and the channel deeper. He therefore devised 
a plan by which he claimed the river could be made to clear 
its own channel. Though in doubt as to the feasibility of the 
project, Congress appropriated money for an experiment 
(1875), and Captain Eads began work in the South Pass. 
Here the channel was narrowed to one thousand feet by 
means of "jetties" or artificial banks, constructed by driving 
two rows of long wooden piles into the river bottom. Those 
in each row were then connected with mattresses made of 
willow logs, fastened with planks and sunk and held in 
place by piling rocks on top of them. Silt deposited on these 
mattresses gradually built up new banks, and within four 
years the cvu'rent of the water flowing between them had 
become sufficiently swift to scour out a channel through the 
bars thirty feet or more deep. 

Congress now created a River Commission to cooperate 
with the states of Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana in 
building levees to keep the river from flooding the bottom 
lands along its lower course. The benefit of these improve- 
ments to both agriculture and trade is almost incalculable. 
As a result New (3rleans has grown to be the leading port in 
the nation for the export of cotton, rice and sugar. 

A new system of agriculture. — The war had deprived 
many a plantation of its owner and of all his sons, and so it 
became necessary to sell many plantations, or to break them 



THE RISE OF THE NEW SOUTH 467 

up and dispose of them in small farms. During the thirty 
years following reconstruction the average size of planta- 
tions in the South decreased from three hundred thirty-five 
acres to less than one hundred forty, and over two hundred 
thousand freedmen acquired small farms. 

When the freedman discovered that the government had 
no intention of giving him a farm or taking care of him, and 
that he was not made welcome in the North, he ^yent back 
to the old plantation. Out of the negro's desire for work 
and the landowner's need for labor developed the present 
dual system of agriculture — farming on shares and for hire. 

Under the "tenant" or share system plantations are par- 
celed out into tracts, small enough to be worked by a single 
tenant family with a mule or two. The "cropper" or tenant 
is furnished land, seed, live stock, tools, etc., and advanced 
the necessary supplies for his family from the plantation or 
near-by general store. When the crop is made, from one- 
third to one-half of it goes to the landowner and the crop- 
per has what is left, out of the proceeds from which he 
pays for his advances. By the other system the negroes are 
paid regular wages for plowing, planting, chopping, etc., and 
usually a stipulated price per hundred pounds for cotton 
picking. 

It was not long before the South found that free labor 
was much more profitable than slavery had been. In less 
than ten years the southern farmers were producing as much 
cotton as in 1860 (5,000,000 bales) ; by 1900 the yield was 
10,000,000 bales — double that of any year under slavery — 
and in 1916 over 16,000.000 bales. 

Florida and the Carolinas abound in phosphate rock. 
The discovery that out of this could be made a cheap fer- 
tilizer which would restore thousands of acres of exhausted 
land and increase greatly the yield of other areas which 
were being cultivated without any profit was of much bene- 
fit to the South. 



468 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



Rise of new industries. — Slavery had been a hindrance 
to the development of the South along all lines except agri- 
culture. There was little manufacti;ring, for negro labor 
was not suited to the operation of intricate machinery and. 
as we have seen, immigrants avoided the South. With a 
large part of the territory covered by forests of magnificent 
timber and with vast stores of mineral wealth just below 
the surface of its soil, the South prior to 1860 imported from 
the North most of its manufactured articles and coal, and 
even large quantities of lumber. 

About 1870 capital began to pour into the Southern States 
for developing the deposits of coal and iron in Alabama. 
Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky. 
Within ten years southern pig iron was sold in northern 
markets, and Birmingham was beginning to rival Pittsburgh 
as a coal and iron center. Before the end of the century 

great cargoes of coal 
were loading at Nor- 
folk for foreign ports. 
While before the war 
almost the whole cot- 
ton crop went abroad 
or to New England, 
within thirty years aft- 
er reconstruction the 
fall line from Virginia 
to Georgia was dotted 
with cotton mills em- 
ploying a hundred thou- 
sand persons. These 
mills proved a great 
benefit to the poorer 
Tl "F 11 L' " class of the white popu- 

Here the streams leave the Piedmont IMa latioU, for they fur- 

teau and drop down to the • » i ^i 

coastal plains uished them an oppor- 




THE RISE OF THE NEW SOUTH 469 

tunity to exchange the bare Hving they had been making 
from their little mountain farms for steady employment at 
good wages. 

Millions of dollars were invested in great sawmills close 
to the extensive forests which cover much of the Lower 
South, especially in Arkansas, Louisiana and ]\Iississippi. 
To-day southern pine is found in nearly every lumber mar- 
ket of the world. In place of depending on the North for her 
factory-made goods, southern manufacturers not only sup- 
ply a large part of the home demand, but are actually meet- 
ing northern competitors on their own ground. 

A series of great expositions. — Near the close of Presi- 
dent Grant's administration there was held at Philadelphia 
a great exposition of the products of the world, to com- 
memorate the one-hundredth anniversary of the Declaration 
of Independence. Large crowds of visitors from every state 
in the Union flocked to this Centennial Exposition, and as 
they wandered among the thousands of exhibits, all mar- 
veled at the progress the world had made within a lifetime, 
and realized as never before the true greatness of their 
own country and its possibilities. From the exhibits of other 
nations they learned, too, many valuable lessons, which in- 
fluenced American life in hundreds of directions. 

Just pride in their conquest of adversity awakened a de- 
sire on the part of southern people to exhibit to the w^orld 
their own progress and the vast resources of the Southland. 
In 1784 the first exportation of cotton, eight bags, was made 
from Charleston ; in 1884 cotton exports amounted to nearly 
four million bales. That year there was held at New Or- 
leans the "Cotton Centennial Exposition," which was at- 
tended by thousands of persons from all parts of the coun- 
try, as well as from abroad. Eleven years later (1895) the 
Cotton States and Industrial Exposition was held at Atlanta, 
and in 1897 Tennessee celebrated the one-hvmdredth anni- 
versarv of her admission to the L^nion by an exposition at 



470 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



Nashville, which attracted many visitors. The three-hun- 
dredth anniversary of the founding of Jamestown was com- 
memorated by the Jamestown Tercentennial Exposition at 
Hampton Roads in 1907 and exhibits were on display from 
all over the civilized world. 

These expositions were largely attended by northerners, 
and did much to bring about a closer feeling between the 




One of the Buildings at the Tennessee Centennial Exposition 

It is now used as an art gallery 

people of the two sections of the country. The South, as 
well as the North, began to realize what an industrial revo- 
lution had taken place. Gradually, even the former slave- 
holders became satisfied that the country they loved so well 
was better off without slavery. Well might they feel proud 
of what they had accomplished, as they walked through the 
great exposition palaces, and contrasted the result of their 
labor with the conditions which confronted them in 1865, 
under the blight of reconstruction. 

The New South and education. — Although prior to the 
War of Secession there were many public schools in the 
South, there was no system which would guarantee an edu- 



THE RISE OF THE NEW SOUTH 



471 



In fifties of millions of dollars 



cation to every child. Lack of funds retarded progress for 
a time, since, excepting Texas, none of the Southern States 
had pubHc lands to furnish a permanent school fund as did 
those of the West. Though for many years practically all 
the taxes were 
paid by the white 
people, before*'"- 
the end of the 

Flo. 

century $125,- 
000,000 hadil 
been expended n.is. 
for negro edu- ^-^ 















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I I W«olthin 1870 I 

0113 Wealth < 



I Wealth lo«T 1860-1870 
ned 1670-1880 



Effect of the War of Secession and Recon- 
struction on the Wealth of the South 



negro 
cation. In 1870 '^ 

Ten 

over thirty-two j^, 

per cent, of the va. 

adult population 

was illiterate, 

chiefly due to 

negroes, of 

course; by 1910 this percentage had been reduced one-half 

through the work of rural public schools. 

The great difficulty of. obtaining competent teachers at- 
tracted the attention of George Peabody, the London 
banker, and through his generosity $3,000,000 was made 

In percent of the progress made by the rest of the country 

ID 20 30 40 50 60 TO 8 90 




I I School attendance 
I I Length of school year 



■H Expenditure per child of school age 
K.x;^^ Teacher's salary 



Educational Progress of the South Compared witli 
That of the Rest of the Nation 



472 OUR COUXTRVS HISTORY 

available to aid young persons secure normal training. An 
institution for the purpose was established at Nashville in 
1869, and later this became the Peabody Normal College. 
In 1882 John F. Slater, a New England manufacturer, do- 
nated $1,000,000 to assist in educating the freedmen. At 
first much of the income from it went to the support of 
Hampton Normal and Industrial Institute in Virginia and 
Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama. 
Since then every state has established one or more normal 
schools for each race. 

No country ever made such educational progress with the 
same handicap and in the same length of time as has the 
South, and while other states are ahead of her this is due 
solely to their greater wealth and earlier start. Nowhere is 
the privilege of an. education held higher and nowhere will 
rich and poor alike support more cheerfully anything which 
promises to -better the public schools. This is the spirit 
which animates the New South and promises so much for 
the future. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. President Grant was honest himsel-f and imbued with good in- 

tentions. Wh}- was there so much corruption and graft dur- 
ing his administrations? What was his weak point as presi- 
dent? 

2. President Haj-es removed the United States troops from the 

South, appointed an ex-Confederate officer as postmaster- 
general in his Cabinet, and was quite considerate in his deal- 
ing witli the South. Did he have any political reasons for 
doing these things? 

3. Explain what is meant by the "sohd South." 

4. Read the clause in the Constitution that provides for the count- 

ing of the electoral votes by the two houses of Congress. 
What happened in 1877? 

5. Although the Democrats believed tliat they had been robbed of 

the presidency in 1877, yet tlie}' abided by the decision. Does 
this act of acquiescence speak well for democracy? Explain 
your answer. 



THE RISE OF THE NEW SOUTH 473 

6. Why does the Federal Government undertake to control the 

Mississippi? Of what value are the Eadcs jetties? 

7. Did slavery have anything to do with producing the southern 

tenant system? Explain how. 

8. How did the credit system in the South just after the War of 

Secession tend to fix the one-crop system in that section? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. The Tweed Ring in New York City. 

2. The contested election of 1876. 

REFERENCE 

Elson's .S';(/(' I/tijJits on .1 iiicn'cait History. Vol. H. Cliapter XI. 

The War between the States Results in the Supremacy of the 
Union and the Problems of Reconstruction Are Solved 

I. The Secession of the Southern States. 

A. The effect of the election of Lincoln in 1860. 

B. The Ordinances of Secession passed by Southern States. 

C. Seceding states take over federal property within their 
limits. 

II. Hostilities Begin at Fort Sumter. 

A. The relative strength of the two belligerents. 

B. Efforts at compromise fail. 

C. The plan of campaign during the first two years of the 
war. 

1. To hold the border states in the Union. 

2. A blockade of the southern ports. 

3. Attempts to capture Richmond. 

4. Attempts to open the Mississippi River. 

D. The Confederate armj' successful in the first important 
engagements of the war. 

E. Threatened trouble with England. 

F. The last two years of the war. 

1. The Emancipation Proclamation. 

2. The battle of Gettysburg. 

3. The fall of Vicksburg. 

4. Tlie hammering campaign. 

5. Sherman's march to the sea. 

6. Lee's s'urrender at Appomattox. 

7. The assassination of Lincoln. 



474 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

III, The Cost of the War. 

A. The toll in men. 

B. The cost in money. 

C. The methods of financing the war by both belligerents. 

1. The National Bank Act. 

D. Why the war was so much more costly to the Confeder- 
ates than to the Federals. 

E. Substitutes and makeshifts resorted to by the people of 
the South. 

IV. Reconstruction. 

A. Some problems of reconstruction. 

1. The conditions in the South at the close of the war. 

2. Northern statesmen unfamiliar with conditions in 
the South. 

3. The desire on the part of some to punish the South. 

4. Different theories as to relations of seceding states 
to the Union. 

B. The plans of reconstruction. 

1. Lincoln's plan. 

2. Johnson's plan. 

3. The Congressional plan. 

a. States that had seceded were divided into mili- 
tary districts and placed under military rule. 

b. The freedmen enfranchised and many whites 
disfranchised. 

c. The Freedmen's Bureau established. 

4. The Ku Klux Klan becomes a means of regulating 
the conduct of freedmen and carpetbaggers. 

V. Foreign Affairs during the War. 
VI. The Rise of the New South. 

A. The election of President Hayes. 

1. The contested election. 

B. The end of carpetbag government in the South. 

C. The rise of new political issues. 

D. Material improvements and the industrial awakening in 
the South. 



CHAPTER XXXV 
THE CONQUEST OF THE FAR WEST 

The Far West in I860.— The "Far West" was the vast 
region lying beyond the frontier settlements. In 1825 when 
the states north and south of the Ohio were considered "out 
west" the country beyond the Mississippi was the "Far 
West." By 1850 the settled area had moved westward to 
the Missouri River and the eastern part of Texas, and the 
"Far West" had become that great stretch of country be- 
tween this region and the new states of California and 
Oregon. It was nearly equal in size to all the states lying 
east of it, and comprised the territories of Kansas, Ne- 
braska, New Mexico, Utah, Washington and the unor- 
ganized Indian country. 

That portion east of the Rockies was composed of vast 
plains which sloped gradually into a semi-arid plateau near 
the foothills. Over these plains roamed great herds of buf- 




A Common Scene on the Southern Plains about 1860 

475 



476 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

f aloes and millions of long-horned cattle, the increase of a 
few brought by the Spanish priests to their missions in the 
Southwest. 

In 1860 the entire white population of the Far West, con- 
lined largely to the eastern rim and the Mormon settlements 
in the Great Salt Lake Basin, was about two hundred and 
seventy thousand. Agriculture and cattle-raising were the 
chief occupations. So fertile was the soil that the shallow- 
est plowing and sowing yielded abundant harvests wherever 
the rainfall was sufficient. The recent discovery of gold in 
Colorado (1858) and the Comstock Silver Lode in western 
Utah (1859) had drawn the usual hordes of adventurers 
and fortune seekers across the plains, and both regions were 
now dotted with mining camps. 

Little was known of the Far West by those living "back 
east," but it was generally believed to be a land of burning 
deserts and lawless mining camps, infested Avith Indians and 
desperadoes. Means of communication were meager. The 
railroad stopped at St. Joseph, on the eastern bank of the 
Missouri. The first pony express rider had just started 
from St. Joseph, to the music of the band and cheers of 
the crowd, proudly bearing a letter from President Bu- 
chanan to the governor of California, felicitating him on 
the progress made in binding together the East and West. 

The population moves westward. — A\^estern expansion 
was greatly accelerated by the coming of j)eace. In 1870 
nearly 850,000 of the 38,000,000 people of the United States 
lived in the Far West. The plains were rapidly being dotted 
with homesteads, and some of the bonanza wheat farms in 
Dakota, which contain twenty thousand or more acres, had 
been laid out. Many a poor rancher, starting with a few 
head of cattle, had built up herds running into tens of thou- 
sands. Half-wild, with nothing to show ownership save a 
brand burned into the hide, looked after by happy-go-lucky 
"cowboys." winter and summer they grazed on the public 



THE CONQUEST OF THE FAR WEST 



477 



domain, and were driven from one region to another as pas- 
turage failed. Sheep raisers were contesting with the "cattle 
barons" for the grassy slopes and waterholes of the Rockies, 
and bloody battles were often fought between the rival cow- 
boys and sheep herders. 

New cities spring up in the West. — Omaha, Kansas 
L'ity and Denver had become flourishing cities. Kansas and 
Nebraska had been admitted to the Union, and seven new 
territories had been formed — Colorado, Nevada, Dakota, 
Arizona. Idaho, Montana and ^^'yoming. In 1864 Con- 
gress became alarmed lest the Thirteenth Amendment to the 
Constitution might fail of ratification, and ]:)ermitted the 
new territory of Nevada to become a state although the 
total population of its mining camps was only forty thou- 
sand. In consideration of the liberality of Congress, the 
miners hastened to ratify the amendment. 

Reasons for westward migration. — The rapid settle- 
ment of the Far West was due largely to the scarcity of 
good farming land in the older sections and the ease 
with which any one could acquire a homestead on the 
public domain. No small factor were the labor-saving- 
inventions of McCormick, Deering and Case, which enabled 
a few men to do what 
formerly required many. 
The building of railroa<ls 
brought enormous de- 
])osits of copper and coal 
and millions of acres of 
forests within e a s )• 
reach, and this in turn 
an invasion of the Far 
West by eastern capital, 
followed by great armies 
of men to dig mines and T'^^' First McCormick Reaper 

, ^ lOT- 1 Notice that the grain was 

cut timber, liv I87d the raked by hand 




478 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

herds of buffalo, which a few years before had dotted the 
plains from Texas to Dakota, had been decimated for their 
meat and pelts, and to-day none are left except the few 
carefully protected on game preserves in the United States 
and Canada. 

The public domain. — During the first half-century of 
the Republic, much of its internal revenue was derived from 
the sale of government land. Corporations and individuals 
purchased large tracts and cut them up into farms, which 
they then sold to settlers at a profit. It was this speculation 
which, as we have already seen, was largely responsible for 
the panic of 1837. To promote actual settlement of the Far 
West, Congress passed the Preemption Act of 1841. This 
permitted any head of a family, widow, single man, or 
single woman, over twenty-one years of age, to buy one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of government land at a dollar and a 
quarter an acre, and as a result the rapid settlement of 
Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri followed. Many of the set- 
tlers in the Far West were immigrants from Europe. Natu- 
rally during the War of Secession immigration declined. 
Congress realized that a great shortage of labor would exist 
after it was over and that something must be done to attract 
more immigrants than ever before, so in 1862 it enacted the 
Homestead Law. This permitted any citizen to obtain a 
quarter section of government land by simply filing a claim 
to it at a land office, paying a small fee for the necessary 
papers and living on the land a specified time. For two 
hundred dollars the homesteader could become possessor 
of an additional quarter section, and by the law of 1873 of 
still another one hundred and sixty acres, on condition that 
forty would be planted in trees, and the trees kept growing 
for eight years. Over twenty-eight million acres had been 
settled by this time. 

At first any public land was open to "entry" under the 
Homestead Law, and as much of it was covered with valu- 



THE CONQUEST OF THE FAR WEST 



479 



In hundreds of thousands 
I I I I I I 



able timber or underlaid with rich minerals, large fortunes 
were amassed by those who preempted such tracts. Later all 
lands of this kind were withdrawn from entry and laws were 
enacted which aimed to keep for the benefit of the nation its 
vast timber and mineral wealth. 

Immigration.— Up to 1860 over 5,000,000 immigrants 
had come to the United States — mostly Irish and German. 
In preparation for the great influx of foreigners which was 
expected as soon as the war should cease Congress, in 1864, 
established a Bureau of Immigration, and enacted laws per- 
mitting corporations 
to hire laborers 
abroad and advance 
their traveling ex- 
penses to the United 
States. Agents were 
sent to foreign coun- 
tries to seek emi- 
grants, and during 
the next few years 
tens of thousands 
entered the country 
under contract to work in its mines and factories and to 
build its railroads. From 1865 to 1870 fully 2,000,000 im- 
migrants arrived, and during the next forty years over 
20,000,000. What immigration has meant to the United 
States may be appreciated by the fact that without it the 
population in 1910 w^ould have been 35,000,000 instead of 
91,000,000. 

Reason why many foreigners came to the United States. 
— A large part of these immigrants were drawn to the 
United States by the possibility of acquiring a free farm in 
the Far West. Others came to escape the intolerable politi- 
cal conditions existing in different parts of Europe. In 
1864 Austria and Prussia wrested from Denmark the prov- 




Nor+h 



I Europe S Southern Europe 

Immigration from 1850 to 1920 



480 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



ince of Schleswig and Holstein. Soon after many of their 
inhabitants began to come to America to escape mihtary 
rule, and settled in Minnesota, Iowa and Dakota. The Ori- 
ental nations of China and Japan, overpopulated and under- 
fed, sent thousands of cheap laborers to the Pacific coast. 
Just as the Irish immigrants furnished the labor needed to 
build the railroads east of the Rockies, so did the Chinese 
coolies that for those west of them. 

Restrictions on immigration, — At first immigrants 
were so welcome that nothing: was demanded of them. The 




Castle Garden, the New York City Gateway by Which the Largest 

Part of the Early Immigrants Entered the United States 

It is now used as an aquarium 

only formality was a requirement that captains should report 
the number they landed. As a result many undesirable per- 
sons entered the country, and Congress was compelled to 
impose restrictions. The first laws enacted required that 
immigrants be furnished with sanitary quarters and decent 
food during the voyage across the ocean, and that surgeons 
l)e provided on the ships to look after their health, lest on 
landing their physical condition be a menace to society. 

The railroad as an aid to the conquest of the Far West. 
— The railroad was indisi)ensable for the conquest of the 
"Far West." Not many farmers like those in the valley 
of the Red River of the North could flatboat their <rrain to 



THE CONQUEST OF THE FAR WEST 



481 



market, for most of the streams in the region west of the 
Missouri are ahiiost dry during much of the year. Wagon- 
ing it hundreds of miles \YOuld have been too slow and costly 
to be practicable. 

Government aid for railroads. — Ever since the admis- 
sion of their state to the Union, the Californians had urged 
government aid for a railway to the East. Nothing 
had come of the surveys made during President Pierce's 
administration, and meanwhile the discoveries of gold 
and silver in Colorado, Nevada and Montana had 
brought thousands of persons to those remote regions. 
As early as 1854 Chicago bankers had projected the 
construction of a railroad across Nebraska to San Fran- 
cisco ; but the first transcontinental line was not actually 
begun until 1866. The remoteness of the territories of the 
Far West and of California and Oregon had prevented the 
Federal Government from utilizing most of their resources 
during the War of Secession and brought home to Congress 
the need of railway connections. As a result steps were 
soon taken to begin the construction of a railroad across the 
Far West. In 1866 the Union Pacific began to build west- 
ward from Omaha, and the Central Pacific eastward from 
San Francisco. Ten thousand men slowly but surely laid the 
rails that were des- 
tined to link East 
and West, across 
wide plains, through 
narrow valleys and 
over dizzy heights ; 
and on May 10. 
1869, the two parties 
met at Promontory 
Point on the eastern 
shore of Great Salt 
Lake. Here, in the 




Driving of Last Spike in the First 
Transcontinental Railroad 



482 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

presence of two trainloads of excited onlookers, one frorn 
the East and the other from the West, was driven a golden 
spike to mark the completion of a "band of steel that would 
never be broken." 

The United States had lent the two companies nearly 
$60,000,000, and donated to them alternate sections of 
land in a strip twenty miles wide on both sides of the right 
of way. The cost was prodigious, as all the material for the 
Central Pacific, which extended from San Francisco to 
Ogden, had to be shipped from the East by way of Cape 
Horn or via the Panama route, and at the start that for the 
Union Pacific had to be taken to Omaha, its eastern termi- 
nus, by steamboat, for not yet had the railroad reached that 
city. 

To meet the needs of the Far West three other transconti- 
nental lines were constructed within fifteen years — the 
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe from Kansas City to Los 
Angeles, the Southern Pacific from New Orleans to Los 
Angeles, the Northern Pacific from Duluth to Seattle and 
Tacoma on Puget Sound, and, in addition, the Oregon 
Short Line from Ogden to Portland near the mouth of the 
Columbia River. To aid the construction of these and many 
smaller roads, including the Texas and Pacific, Congress 
had made land grants aggregating three hundred million 
acres, or one-sixth of the entire country at that time (1890). 

A resident of Washington could now take a trip to San 
Francisco in less time than he could have taken one to Bos- 
ton fifty years before. No longer could it be said that a 
congressman from Oregon would have to spend ten months 
of the twelve on the way to the capital and back home 
again. The transcontinental railroads proved to be the 
"northwest passage" so eagerly sought in former days. 
Seattle, Tacoma and San Francisco took the place in Ori- 
ental trade which New York and Boston had formerly 
held. In as few weeks as it before had required months, 



THE CONQUEST OF THE FAR WEST 483 

silks and teas from China, porcelains from Japan and spices 
from the Indies could be brought to America and distributed 
throughout the entire country. 

Reclaiming the -western deserts. — The region between 
the Rockies and the mountain ranges along the Pacific coast 
is so nearly devoid of rainfall that vegetation consists 
mainly of cactus and sage-brush. Long before the Spanish 
missionaries invaded the Southwest the Indians of Arizona 
and New Mexico had made the desert yield fair crops with 
the aid of their rude systems of irrigation by which they 
brought water from rivers and spread it over their fields. 
In 1902 Congress passed the "Reclamation Act" authoriz- 
ing the government to construct dams and reservoirs in the 
mountains for storing the water supplied by the melting 
snow. From these reservoirs the water is distributed by 
canals and ditches to the desert lands below. In eight years 
fourteen million acres of sage-brush and cacti had been 
converted into alfalfa, sugar beet and grain fields, vineyards, 
apple orchards, and orange and walnut groves. 

Western mining and its influence. — Certain parts of the 
Far West like Nevada and Colorado owed their development 
almost wholly to their mineral deposits. In 1876, near the 
source of the Arkansas River, around the present Leadville, 
Colorado, another wonderfully rich lode of silver was dis- 
covered. A few years later the richest deposits of copper in 
the world were uncovered in Arizona and Montana, and 
soon the gulches in the vicinity of Bisbee, Jerome and Butte 
became populous mining towns. At first the ores had to be 
shipped long distances for smelting due to lack of coal, but 
the discovery of rich veins in New Mexico, Wyoming and 
Montana resulted in the establishment of great smelters at 
El Paso, Texas ; Douglas, Arizona ; Pueblo and Denver, 
Colorado ; and Butte and Anaconda, Montana. Many of the 
mining camps grew into substantial cities with much di- 
versified manufacturing and a profitable trade with the sur- 



484 



OUR COUXTR^'S IIISTOKV 



rounding cuunlr}-, while others "decayed" with the exhaust- 
ing of the veins which had given. them their birth and the 
consequent departure of the miners to new fields. 

Silver production and political issues. — The enormous 
increase in silver production which followed the open- 
ing of the Colorado mines gave rise to a most vio- 
lent political issue. From their establishment the mints 
had coined gold and silver bullion free of charge. In 
1834 it took an ounce of silver to make a coin equal in value 
to a gold dollar, which weighed one-sixteenth of an ounce. 
This means that because of its greater scarcity and the 
larger expense attached to its mining, gold was then worth 
sixteen times as much as silver, and the ratio of value be- 
tween the two metals was said to be "sixteen to one." As 
gold has a fixed value the world over, then as now it was re- 
garded as the monetary standard. The government kept its 
currency sound by a gold reserve in the Treasury sufficient 



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Market value of the silver 
111 ci bilver dollar 



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1.00 
.95 
.90 
.85 « 
60 c 
.75 o 
.70 c 
65 
.60 
.55 
.50 
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F.fFect of Production oti the ^^alno of Silver 



THE CONQUEST OF TH1-; FAR W EST 485 

to exchange on demand whatever paper or silver nione} 
might be presented. Before the discovery of the Colorado 
deposits there was not enough silver mined in the country 
to supply the demand of the silversmiths, and the market 
price rose to more than a dollar an ounce. As a result for 
years no bullion was presented for coinage. Therefore in 
1873, Congress passed an act demonetizing silver, that is. 
stopping the coinage of silver dollars and declaring them no 
longer to be legal tender. So great, however, was the out- 
put from the new mines — the Virginia Consolidated in Ne- 
vada alone produced bullion worth three hundred million 
dollars — that the silversmiths could not use all of it, and so 
the price began to fall. By 1876 a ten-dollar gold piece 
would buy silver enough to have made eleven silver dollars 
under the old law, and finally silver became so cheap that 
the silver dollar in circulation was worth only half a gold 
dollar. 

The silver party demand the recoinage of silver. — The 
loss fell on the owners of the silver mines in the West, 
for they were the only persons having bullion for sale. They 
began at once to demand the recoinage of silver at the old 
ratio of "sixteen to one," which would double the value of 
their bullion. By the argument that it would put more 
money in circulation, which was bound to raise the price 
of everything they produced, the silver men succeeded in 
inducing many southerners and western farmers to indorse 
ihis demand. The "gold bugs," as the capitalists and bank- 
ers of the East were called, opposed it, insisting that they 
would lose by having to accept depreciated silver coins in 
payment of the loans they had made. They demanded that 
all government bonds and currency should be redeemable 
with gold only, since it alone has a fixed value and can be 
used in international commerce. In 1878 Congress enacted 
the Bland Bill. »is a sort of compromise. The silver dollar 



486 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

was made legal tender once more and the government agreed 
to buy enough bullion each month to coin from two to four 
million. 

Gold, not silver, our monetary standard. — Inasmuch 
as the production of silver continued to increase, the 
metal steadily depreciated, regardless of the govern- 
ment's purchases. In 1890 the "Silverites" got control of 
Congress and passed the Sherman Silver Act, increasing the 
amount of bullion to be purchased by the government each 
year and stipulating that it should be paid for with treasury 
notes redeemable in either gold or silver, but the coinage of 
the silver was not compulsory. The next year the Populist 
party, composed mostly of western farmers, was organized, 
and in its platform was a plank championing "free silver," 
that is, allowing any one possessing silver bullion to have it 
coined free of charge by the United States mints. In 1900 
Congress finally settled the matter by enacting a law which 
made gold the standard of the country's monetary system. 
This means that all government bonds and notes are payable 
"on demand" in gold coin. Most mortgages and other evi- 
dences of indebtedness also stipulate payment in gold. 

Indian difHculties. — The Indian tribes of the Far West 
were more hostile than those farther east. During the War 
of Secession some of the Sioux rose in rebellion against the 
invasion of their hunting-grounds and murdered a thousand 
Minnesota settlers. They were finally overpowered and 
removed to a reservation in the southwestern part of Dakota. 

When General Grant became president he saw the need 
of a new Indian policy. Under the old plan large tracts of 
the public domain were set aside for the different tribes 
and they were required to stay on these "reservations." 
Treaties were entered into with the Indians by which the 
government agreed to supply them with food and ammu- 
nition, and to provide teachers and physicians. To super- 
vise carrying out the treaties an agent was placed on each 



THE CONQUEST OF THE FAR WEST 



487 



reservation, but instead of looking after the interests of these 
"wards of the nation," he often cheated and misused them. 
As a result, for years there had been so much strife that 
fully half the expense of the War Department was incurred 
in putting down In- 
dian disturbances. 
Grant had observed 
that the Cherokees, 
Creeks, Choctaws, 
Chickasaws and 
Semindles had be- 
come so settled in 
habits and peaceful 
since they were lo- 
cated in the Indian 
Territory that it 
was no misnomer to 
call them "the five 
civilized tribes." He 
decided to try the 
experiment of en- 
trusting some of 
the reservations to 
the care of the So- 
ciety of Friends 
in hope that they would be as successful in winning the 
friendship of the Indians as their predecessors had been in 
colonial days (1869). In course of time more reservations 
were placed in charge of other denominations. 

Not long after the new policy was adopted, the Modocs, 
a tribe in southern Oregon, went on the warpath and at- 
tacked many of the outlying settlements. They finally fled 
to the lava beds of northern California and for months kept 
up guerrilla fighting with the troops sent to dislodge them. 
In the spring of 1873 several of their chiefs were captured 



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The Cherokee Alphabet, Invented b}^ 
Sequoyah in 1821 

This shows how far from being savages the 

Cherokees were. Many other tribes 

were almost equally advanced 



488 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

and either hanged or imprisoned and the remainder ot the 
tribe was removed to Indian Territory. 

General Custer and the Sioux Indians. — When gold 
was discovered in the Black Hills of Dakota, a part 
of the Sioux reservation, President Grant tried to buy 
the region from the Indians in order to avoid the trouble 
sure to follow a rush of miners. The Sioux chieftains, still 
bitter because many had been removed from their former 
hunting-grounds, refused to sign the treaty. The next year 
(1876) two of them. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, led 
their "braves" in attacks on the white settlers of Montana 
and Wyoming. Federal troops were despatched to the scene 
to force the Indians back to their reservation. In the war 
which followed, General Custer with his two hundred and 
sixty cavalrymen was surrounded in the Little Big Horn 
Valley in northeastern \\'yoming. Riding round and round 
the little band, the savages did not cease their deadly fire 
until the last man fell. In the end the Sioux were over- 
powered, and those who did not escape to the wilds of Can- 
ada were driven back to their reservation. Until the Far 
West was conquered by the railroad there were frequent 
Indian disturbances in many localities. The Apaches in- 
fested the stage routes in New Mexico and Arizona and 
committed many petty depredations. In 1877 the Nez 
Perces, of Idaho, went on the warpath, and so adroit were 
they that months were spent by General Howard in their 
pursuit before they were finally rounded up in the Bear 
Paw Mountains of Montana. 

The red man and landownership. — In 1885, by passing 
the Da vies Act, Congress at last adopted a policy designed 
to appeal to the Indian's pride. This sought to make out 
of him a citizen rather than a pauper, by encouraging indi- 
vidual ownership of land and offering an opportunity to 
acquire a useful education. Since then there has been no 



THE CONQUEST OF THE FAR WEST 489 

serious difficulty with the red men, and many of them have 
become good citizens. 

The opening of Oklahoma. — Before 1890 good farming 
land available for entry under the Homestead Act had be- 
come scarce and many were casting "longing eyes" at the 
Sioux reservation in Dakota and the western portion of In- 
dian Territory. The Seminoles had sold their lands in what 
is now western Oklahoma to the government, with the un- 
derstanding that white settlers were to be kept out. For 
years United States marshals and soldiers were busy eject- 
ing those who persisted in "squatting" and "running cattle" 
on these lands. Finally, worn out trying to keep the whites 
out, the government bought from the Indians all of west- 
ern Oklahoma and President Harrison issued a proclamation 







The Arrival of the First Train at Guthrie, Oklahoma, 
April 22, 1889 

that, on April 22, 1889, the region would be thrown open 
for settlement. 

For several days "live times as many people as could hope 
to obtain a foothold" in the territory were encamped just 
across the line and held back with great difficulty by the 
troops assembled to enforce the regulations. Promptly at 
noon on April twenty-second, bugles sounded the signal for 
the rush to begin. Mounted on fast horses, in buggies and 
wagons, and afoot, thousands of land-hungry men and 
women swept into Oklahoma like a whirlwind. Each made 
a "bee line" for the particular land he had set his mind on 
securing and as soon as he had driven down stakes to show 



490 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

it was claimed, he hurried to one of the many land offices to 
enter it. So fierce was the struggle to get into line before 
the shanties where the government land agents were at work 
that many persons were actually injured. 

Closely behind followed the families of thousands of those 
who had taken part in the rush, with all their belongings, 
ready to settle down wherever their claims might be. By 
nightfall Guthrie had a population of eight thousand and 
rude "shacks" were springing up where had been open 
prairie in the morning. City officials had been elected, four 
business streets laid out, and a bank with a capital of fifty 
thousand dollars organized. Before the end of the year 
Oklahoma Territory had a population of sixty thousand, 
and its mushroom capital city boasted of electric lights, a 
street railway, blocks of substantial buildings, good schools 
and several churches. 

A year later the Sioux went on the warpath again. This 
time they were punished by being forced to sell their lands 
to the government and were removed from their old reser- 
vation which was then thrown open for settlement. 

The World's Columbian Exposition. — To commemorate 
the discovery of America four hundred years before, in 
May, 1893, Chicago opened the gates to the World's 
Columbian Exposition — the greatest enterprise of its 
kind that had ever been undertaken. Hundreds of acres 
were covered with palaces housing exhibits from all 
parts of the world. Each state in the Union and many 
foreign countries had separate buildings designed to give 
visitors an idea of their resources. Never had such 
crowds assembled before. On Chicago Day more than 
seven hundred thousand visitors passed through the turn- 
stiles of Jackson Park. 

Expositions at Omaha, St. Louis and Portland. — Five 
years later the Trans-Mississippi Exposition was held 
at Omaha to show the progress made by what had been 



THE CONQUEST OF THE FAR WEST 



491 



kit I f%"*^ 




The Court of Honor at the World's Columbian Exposition 

the Far West thirty years before. On April 30, 1904, the 
Louisiana Purchase was commemorated by throwing open 
an exposition in St. Louis, which even exceeded in the size, 
number and magnificence of its exposition palaces that held 
in Chicago eleven years before. A year later the Pacific 
coast revealed the wealth of the Northwest in its Lewis and 
Clark Centennial, at Portland, Oregon. Here, in full view 
of Mount Hood and other snowcapped peaks, thousands of 
visitors viewed wnth amazement the exhibits from the Far 
West, and especially from iVlaska and the Orient. By these 
expositions the country awoke to a realization that the old 
Far West had gone forever and that in its place was a new 
Far West, rich in resources and alive with men eager for 
big things. 

The last continental states. — Nebraska was admitted 
to the Union in 1867, and soon after Colorado began to 
clamor for statehood. \\'ith the discovery of silver in 1876 
came such a rush of settlers that its claims could no longer be 
ignored, and later in the year it was admitted as the thirty- 



492 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




The Mormon Tempk at Salt 

Lake Citj' 

None but Mormons are permitted 

to enter this building 



eighth state. Utah, the oasis in the western desert, would 
have followed Colorado as the thirty-ninth state had it not 
been for the ^^lormon 
practise of polygamy. 
Plural marriages had 
been prohibited by act of 
Congress in 1862, but 
the Mormons insisted on 
adhering to the practise 
as a part of their relig- 
ious belief. Arrest and 
imprisonment had little 
effect, so in 1887 Con- 
gress authorized the con- 
fiscation of all their 
church property. 3*Iean- 
while the Gentiles, as the 
non-Mormons were called, were increasing rapidly in the 
larger towns and protesting loudly against this policy of 
punishing the whole territory for the wrong-doing of a few 
hundred "Latter Day Saints." Fortunately, President 
Woodruff decided it was best to bring the practises of his 
church into conformity with the law of the land, and issued 
a "manifesto" forbidding plural marriages, and later this 
was approved by a church conference held in Salt Lake City. 
As a result Utah came into the Union in 1896 w^ith a consti- 
tution forever forbidding polygamy. 

Four new states were admitted in 1889 — North Dakota, 
the northern half of Dakota Territory ; South Dakota, the 
southern and by far the richer half, due to the gold deposits 
in the Black Hills ; Montana and Washington. A year later 
Idaho and Wyoming came in. W^yoming had in her con- 
stitution a clause granting suft'rage to "all male and female- 
citizens," and thus became the first state to bestow full suf- 
frage on women. By 1907 Oklahoma had grown so fast that 



THE COXQLKST OF THK FAR WEST 493 

she was admitted as the forty-sixth state. Indian Territory 
was made a part of the new state in anticipation of the time 
when the Indians w^ould relinquish their tribal lands and 
laws and desire to enjoy the full rights of American citi- 
zens. The wisdom of this union was soon evident, for 
within seven years the segregated lands had been brought 
under state control and one hundred and fifty thousand In- 
dians admitted into full citizenship. And finally, with the 
admission, in 1912, of New Mexico, with its large Spanish- 
speaking population, and Arizona, the Far West ha'd disap- 
peared from the American continent. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. Explain the meaning of frontier. Point out on a map the coun- 

try that was considered the Far West in 1850. Name the vari- 
ous things that attracted settlers to the Far West. Describe 
tiie means of communication between the East and Far West. 

2. Describe the life of a cowboy in the Far West. What great 

labor-saving inventions made the development of the Far 
West possible? Explain how. 
.^. How did Nevada get into the Union as a state with such a small 
population? What religious sect settled Utah? 

4. Why have the people of the United States been so wasteful of 

the material resources of the country? How might a farmer 
secure a home in the West under the Homestead Law of 
1862? Did that law prevent one person from getting posses- 
sion of large tracts of land? 

5. After the War between the States how were poor foreigners 

enabled to get to the United States ? 

6. Explain what is meant by the free and unlimited coinage of 

both gold and silver at the ratio of 16 to 1. Why have the 
people in the West advocated it? 

7. Mention some of the difficulties that the United States had in 

dealing with the Indians before Grant's administration. What 
was the Davies Act of 1885 ? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. The inducements that attracted immigrants to the United 

States. 

2. The rush to Oklalioma in 1889. 



CHAPTER XXXVI 

THE BEGINNING OF REFORM LEGISLATION 

James A. Garfield, President, 1S81-1881 

Chester A. Arthur, President, 1881-1885 

Graver Cleveland, President, i88j-i88p 

A martyr to the cause. — By his Hberal attitude toward 
the South President Hayes had offended his party so much 
that his defeat for renomination in 1880 was decreed by the 
Republican leaders. The extremists proposed to nominate 
ex-President Grant, but the precedent of not more than two 
terms was too strong and in the end James A. Garfield, of 
Ohio, and Chester A. Arthur, of New York, became the 
standard bearers. The platform demanded civil service 
reform and the suppression of polygamy in Utah. The 
Democrats put forward a war veteran, General Winfield S. 
Hancock, on a platform advocating "honest money" and a 
"tariff for revenue only." Not only did the Republicans 
win the election, but they even gained control of the House 
of Representatives again. 

After Garfield's inauguration, it looked as though a pe- 
riod of much prosperity was in store for the country. The 
value of currency had become stable and the silver dollar 
was legal tender once more. However, a few months later 
the entire nation was shocked by the news that the president 
had been shot by a disappointed office seeker. For three 
months he fought a heroic fight, while prayers were uttered 
from all quarters for his recovery, but the struggle was too 
great and on September nineteenth he passed away, the sec- 
ond president to fall at the hand of an assassin. 

494 



THE BEGINNING OF REFORM LEGISLATION 



495 



President Garfield did not die in vain, for the people were 
now awake to the evils of the spoils system. His brief oc- 
cupancy of the White House had been one of constant com- 
bat with the pernicious practise of appointing men to office 
simply to please certain congressmen. In all sections pop- 
ular indignation ran high and there was a demand that the 
spoils system should go forever. 

The reform of the civil service. — Ever since President 
Jackson's day faithful party workers had been rewarded 
with positions in the civil service, and with a change of ad- 
ministration many were threatened with the loss of their 
places. As a result government employees became a great 
machine of self-interested politicians, who could be counted 
on for loyal work and generous contributions to campaign 
funds at election time. Listening to the pleas of office seek- 
ers and their advocates consumed an undue amount of the 
president's time. 
Even during the 
War of Seces- 
sion their impor- 
tuning was so 
incessant that 
Lincoln said, "I 
am like a man 
so occupied with 
letting rooms in 
one end of his 
house that he 
can not put out 
the fire that is 
burning at the 
other." Both 

Urant and Hayes Cle^eTandHamsonClevelandMcKinlev Roosevelt Roosevelt Taft 

desired to elimi- r, •■• t5i j j ..u n- -i c 

Fositions rlaced under the Livil service 

nate politics from 1887 to 1917 by Administrations 



















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496 OUR COUXTRY'S HISTORY 

from the civil service, but Congress had no sympathy with 
such a "goody-goody" poHcy, since many of its members 
continued to hold their seats by securing government jobs 
for their constituents. 

After President Garfield's assassination the demand for 
civil service reform was too strong to be ignored, and al- 
though a Republican platform measure it was taken up in 
a non-partisan spirit. Senator Pendleton, a Democrat, in- 
troduced a bill authorizing the president to select certain 
classes of government employees who in the future were 
to secure positions by competitive examinations regardless 
of politics, and to appoint a Civil Service Commission to 
prepare the questions and hold the examinations. The bill 
further stipulated that no employee in the classified service 
should be discharged for failure to do party work or to 
make campaign contributions. When the Pendleton Bill be- 
came a law in 1883, President Arthur issued an order put- 
ting a few thousand positions in the classified service and 
each succeeding president has increased the number until 
in 1916 it was beyond two hundred thousand. This has 
brought about greater efficiency in government service and 
made it a profession in which men and women are advanced 
according to ability. It has also enabled the president to 
become more independent of Congress and to assume the 
role of leadership. 

The Chinese Exclusion Act. — The need of laborers in 
the extreme West for railway construction and similar work 
led contractors to import large numbers of coolies from the 
Orient, and by 1870 there were fifty-five thousand Chinese 
in the United States. White workmen looked on this in- 
vasion with much apprehension and clashes became fre- 
quent, especially in San Francisco where many Chinamen 
were seriously injured. Demands were made that Chinese 
immigrants be excluded, since they lived by themselves, 
did not bring their families and hoarded their earnings with 



THE BEGINNING OF REFORM LEGISLATION 



497 




A Scene in "Chinatown, 
San Francisco 



a view to returning to China. Labor's real objection, how- 
ever, was their low "standard of living," that is, inexpensive 
customs, which enabled them to work longer hours and for 
smaller wages than white working men were content with. 
.\s early as 1870, Con- 



gress had denied to the 
Chinese the right to be- 
come citizens by natura- 
lization. Ten years later, 
to satisfy white labor, a 
treaty was negotiated 
with the Chinese Gov- 
ernment, permitting the 
exclusion of all China- 
men except travelers, 
merchants, students and 
diplomats, and in 1882 
the "Chinese Exclusion 
Act" was passed. As Canada and Mexico admitted Chinese 
laborers they continued to slip in through these countries 
and, although many were deported each year, in 1910 there 
were seventy-one thousand Chinese in the country, and as 
many more Japanese. 

California prohibits landownership by Japanese. — 
The constantly increasing number of Japanese, who were 
largely confined to the Pacific coast, also became a source 
of complaint in some quarters. In 1906 San Francisco re- 
fused to allow Japanese pupils to attend the same public 
schools with white children. Japan protested against this 
discrimination but later agreed to stop the emigration of 
unskilled labor to the United States. A few years later, 
alarmed by the encroachment of Japanese farmers, Cali- 
fornia enacted a law prohibiting them from owning land 
within the state. Japan resented this bitterly and there 
was considerable talk of the two nations becoming involved 



498 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

in war. In 1919-20 the anti-Japanese agitation started 
again, due to the great increase in their numbers and to the 
passing of large tracts of CaHfornia's best land into the 
control of companies composed exclusively of Japanese. 

Two notable laws. — During President Cleveland's ad- 
ministration Congress enacted two important laws relating 
to the presidency. The Constitution provided that in case 
of -the president's death, removal from office or inability to 
serve, the vice-president should take his place ; but there 
was no provision for a successor to the latter. Under a law 
passed in 1792 the succession passed to the president of the 
Senate, who might belong to a different political party from 
the late president. To remove this contingency a law was 
passed in 1886 providing that the heads of Departments, 
if otherwise eligible, should succeed to the presidency in 
the order in which their Departments were created. This 
is as follows : State, Treasury, War, Attorney-General, 
Postmaster-General, Navy, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce. 
Labor. 

To prevent any more disputed electoral returns like those 
in the election of 1876, another law was passed providing 
that each state should settle its own election contests. Dupli- 
cate certificates of the electoral vote were then to be sent to 
the president of the Senate and opened, read and counted 
in the presence of both Houses of Congress by two tellers 
from each. 

Popular discontent with the railroads. — Both the fed- 
eral and state governments had been liberal toward the rail- 
roads and a large part of their original cost had been borne 
by the public. Soon after the War of Secession capitalists, 
prominent among whom were Cornelius Vanderbilt, Thomas 
A, Scott, Jay Gould and CoUis P. Huntington, began buying 
up short lines and building great railroad systems with 
ramifications in a half dozen or more states. Competition 
became keen for both passengers and freight, and as the 



THE BEGINNING OF REFORM LEGISLATION 499 




companies were not required to publish their rates, discrim- 
ination was common. The larger and richer railways cut 
their rates until the smaller ones were even driven into bank- 
ruptcy. At one time the rate war was so bitter that a pas- 
senger could travel from Wash- 
ington to Cincinnati for one dol- 
lar. In order to secure the 
freight of large shippers the pro- 
prietors and important employ- 
ees were given free passes and 
their shipments secret rebates. 
As a result they could undersell 
their less favored competitors 
and force them out of business. 

As early as 1869 the farm- 
ers of the West began to pro- 
test, and soon Wisconsin and 
Illinois passed laws compelling 
the railroads to reduce their rates. 
cided that the states could only regulate traffic within their 
own borders, and as this was only a fraction of the total, 
these measures brought little relief. Meanwhile, the compa- 
nies had ceased warring and formed "pools," that is, agree- 
ments by which long haul freight was distributed in a 
stipulated proportion among the lines regardless of the 
shipper's preference or interests. This entailed delay and 
useless expense to the shipper, since his goods often took a 
circuitous route to their destination. The situation became 
so intolerable that demands were made on Congress for laws 
stopping these high-handed acts in connection with inter- 
state commerce. 

The Interstate Commerce Act. — In 1887 Congress en- 
acted a law providing for the appointment of an Interstate 
Commerce Commission consisting of five members. This 
commission was empowered to compel railway companies to 



■ riore or less independent lines 

Diagram Showing How 
Large a Part of the Na- 
tion's 204,000 Miles of 
Railway Had Been Ab- 
sorbed by a Few Systems 
up to September, 1903 

The Supreme Court de- 



500 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

charge all persons the same for the same service, and also to 
discontinue the old injustice of discriminating against cer- 
tain towns, by charging more for transporting freight to 
them than to others at a longer distance. The law requires 
all rates to be printed and posted where they may be seen 
by the public and accounts to be kept in such form as the 
Commission may order. 

Enforcement of these regulations was difficult at first, for 
the railways were disposed to evade them. The companies, 
with their hundreds of millions of invested capital, were 
usually able to exert political influence strong enough to 
defeat any candidate for office, whom they regarded un- 
friendly, and consequently they thought themselves too 
powerful to be reached. Confronted with this situation. 
Congress put "more teeth" into the law by amendments giv- 
ing the Commission power to establish rates and requiring 
that all changes should first receive its approval. The com- 
panies were also compelled to equip their trains with modern 
safety devices, and were forbidden to issue passes and to 
grant rebates. Since then the authority of the Interstate 
Commerce Commission has been extended over the Pullman 
Car Company, and the express, telegraph and telephone 
companies. 

The country burdened with another surplus. — The high 
duties which had been levied on imports during the War of 
Secession were left undisturbed by the Republican admin- 
istrations in power after its conclusion, for their party was 
committed to a high protective tarifif. When the Demo- 
crats gained control of the House of Representatives in 
1883 they secured some minor reductions. So great was 
the government's income as a result of these taxes that by 
the time Cleveland became president (1885) the national 
debt had been paid as far as due — more than half the total — 
and a surplus of one hundred million dollars a year was 
accumulating. What to do with this money was a question 



THE BEGINNING OF REFORM LEGISLATION 



501 



which caused much debate. Some of the Congressmen 
wanted the government to go into the market and buy 
United States bonds and then retire them. It was well 
known that this would raise them immediately to a high 
premium and prove an 
unwise policy. Many ad- 
vocated starting sufficient 
])ublic improvements to 
use up the surplus. The 
Democrats, who had al- 
ways opposed any tariff 
not "for revenue only," 
urged a material reduction 
in duties and this view 
had the approval of Presi- 
dent Cleveland. In his 
message to the Republican 
Congress in 1887 Cleve- 
land denounced the pres- 
ent tarifif as "vicious and 
illegal and inequitable," 
and urged a reduction of 
duties on the necessities 
of life. He declared that 
"It is a condition which 

confronts us — not a theory," and that the solution of the, 
problem ought to be undertaken in a non-partisan, spirit.. 
Congressman R. Q. Mills, of Texas, the Democratic leader^, 
jnished through the House of Representatives a. bill em- 
bodying the president's wishes, but the measure w,as. de-. 
feated in the Senate. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and' ^tudy 

1. Why has no president ever been elected for more than, two 

terms? What ones have tried to be elected for a third term? 

2. Explain the meaning of the following : civil service, polygamy, 

honest money, tariff for revenue. 




Grover Cleveland 



502 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

3. What were the chief evils of the Spoils Sj'stem? How did the 

assassination of President Garfield help to put an end to this 
system? Give the main provisions of the Pendleton Civil 
Service Bill of 1883. Does this law conduce to better and 
more efficient service? 

4. What is the meaning of the "standard of living" of a people? 

Give the chief objections to Chinese immigrants to the United 
States. How can the bitter prejudice against the Japanese in 
California be explained? Explain the Americanization of for- 
eigners. 

5. Suppose that both the president and vice-president of the 

United States had died before Cleveland's administration, 
what would have happened? What would be the procedure at 
present? 

6. Explain why the individual states do not control the commerce 

that they have with other states. Why was the passenger rate 
* from Washington to Cincinnati a good many years ago so 
much lower than at present? What is a rebate to shippers? 
Show how two competing parallel railroads were able to get 
rid of competition by forming a pool. What were some of 
the provisions of the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887? 

7. How did the United States .get most of the money required to 

pay the expenses of the government in 1885? Explain why a 
surplus of money was accumulating in the Treasury at the 
rate of $100,000,000 a year. 

8. Amendment I to the Constitution of the United States provides 

that Congress shall, make no law prohibiting the free exercise 
of religion. How could Congress pass a law abolishing polyg- 
amy in Utah ? 

SUBJECTS FOR 1-URTHER STUDY 

1. I'^xamination for the civil service. 

2. The third-term movement. 

3. The Garfield tragedy. 

REFERENCE 

Elson's Side Lights on American History, Vol. II, Chapter XII. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 
A REPUBLICAN VICTORY AND A HIGH TARIFF 

Benjamin Harrison, President, i88p-i8p^ 

The election of President Harrison. — For the first time 
the tariff question was placed squarely before the people 
in 1888. President Cleveland was renominated on a plat- 
form advocating a "tariff for revenue only." Benjamin 
Harrison, of Indiana, became the Republican candidate and 
his party championed the cause of a high protective tariff. 
It was a bitter contest and one marked by much corrup- 
tion. Manufacturers who would profit from higher duties 
made such large contributions to the Republican campaign 
fund that money was available to pay for every purchasable 
vote. ]\Iany working men dared not vote against their em- 
ployers' wishes for fear they would be discharged. 

Cleveland's attitude toward the civil service cost the 
Democratic ticket many votes. He had found the govern- 
ment offices filled with Republicans and, believing that the 
public business was suffering from too much party work, 
removed thousands of them, and filled their places with 
Democrats. Still he did not go far enough to satisfy his 
party, for he refused to interfere with clerks and minor 
offfcials. On the other hand he was opposed by the civil 
service reformers, although he had made over twelve thou- 
sand additions to the classified list. His veto of bills pro- 
viding pension increases for Union soldiers also cost him 
many votes in the North. Although the Democrats polled a 
majority of the popular vote, the Republicans carried New 

503 



504 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



York with its large number of electors and consequently 
won easily. They also gained a majority in the House of 
Representatives once more. 

Introduction of the Australian ballot. — Corruption had 
been so rife in the campaign of 1888 that there was a pop- 
ular demand for secret voting thereafter. According to the 
plan which had prevailed from the foundation of the gov- 
ernment, political parties had their own ballots printed, 
usually on paper of some distinguishing color, and on elec- 
tion day their workers handed them out. All voting was 
done in public and any one could see how a person voted. 
This plan enabled the party workers to make sure that those 
who had sold their votes delivered them and that working 
men voted according to orders. For all practical purposes 
it deprived many poor or dependent citizens of their right 
of suffrage. 

In 1888 Massachusetts introduced the "Australian ballot" 
into the United States. This is a method of secret voting, 
so called because it originated in Australia. The state prints 
an "official ballot" which is divided into as many columns as 
there are political parties and in each appear the names of 
the candidates of that party. No spectators are allowed 




Voting in Boston by the Australian Method in the Election of 1888 



A REPUBLICAN VICTORY 505 

within the polHng offices and the officials are chosen as 
evenly as possible from the leading parties. When a citizen 
enters the polling place he is given an official ballot which he 
takes into one of the booths provided for that purpose and 
marks it so as to indicate his choice ; he then deposits it in 
the voting box. By this method no one can ever discover 
how he voted. Before the election of 1892 thirty-seven 
states had adopted the "Australian ballot." To-day it is 
used throughout the nation and other laws have been passed 
to prevent election frauds and enable the returns from the 
polls to express the will of the people. 

The tariff question. — As we have seen, it was a high 
protective tariff that caused South Carolina to attempt nul- 
lification in 1832. During the next twenty-eight years the 
Democrats had been in power so much of the time that a 
low tariff policy had become firmly established. In 1860 
the question became a national .issue by the Republicans 
championing a protective tariff to win the support of the 
manufacturing centers. The tariff which they enacted for 
the purpose of raising war revenues had been kept in force 
eighteen years after the war in the interest of a few manu- 
facturers. In 1883 Congress disregarded a tariff commis- 
sion's recommendation for a twenty or twenty-five per cent, 
reduction in duties, and enacted a law which actually in- 
creased the rates on important articles. This was the situa- 
tion when Harrison and his Republican Congress came into 
power in 1889. 

The tariff and local selfishness. — The election had 
shown that the tariff question becomes one of selfish 
local interest as soon as submitted to the people. While 
the farmers of the South generally favored a low tariff', 
those of the Northwest, influenced by their silver neigh- 
bors, supported high protective duties. They succumbed 
to the argument of seventy-five years before that high 
duties would build up prosperous manufacturing cen- 



506 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

ters and these would furnish good markets for their farm 
produce. The steel and cotton manufacturers in the South 
joined with those in the North in a demand for even more 
protection, so as to keep out as much European competition 
as possible. Large commercial cities like New York favored 
a low tariff for the effect it would have on foreign trade. 

Some arguments on the tariff question. — Many argu- 
ments were advanced to catch the ear of the ignorant 
voter. Advocates of a high tariff' claimed that it diversi- 
fied industry and developed mining and manufacturing in 
"regions which otherwise would be strictly agricultural. 
The slogan, "A high tariff for high wages," proved a rally- 
ing cry, while the intensely patriotic element gladly accepted 
the doctrine, "American goods for Americans and keep 
American money at home." Those opposed to a high tariff' 
argued that it encouraged corporations to combine and form 
monopolies, which in time would drive the smaller concerns 
out of business and would thereby allow the corporations 
to fix prices to suit themselves. They insisted that the higher 
wages were more than offset by the increased cost of living. 
And finally they pointed out that to excessive revenue was 
due such governmental extravagance as the "Rivers and 
Harbors Act" of 1882. This measure, appropriating eight- 
een million dollars for certain districts in order to encourage 
the reelection of Republican congressmen, had become a law 
over President Arthur's veto. 

The new tariff legislation. — Congress regarded the 
election returns of 1888 as a mandate from the people to re- 
vise the tariff upward. In 1890 the Ways and Means Com- 
mittee of the House of Representatives framed a new law 
increasing the rates ten per cent. This McKinley Bill, as it 
was called from the name of the chairman of the committee, 
also authorized the president to enter into "reciprocity 
agreements" with foreign nations, by which certain products 
could be imported into the United States at reduced rates, 



A RKPUBLICAN VICTORY 



507- 



In twenties cf millions of dollars 



1875 
1880 
1885 
1610 
18^5 
WOO 

iqo5 

1110 

iqi5 

1118 



I I 



provided that the country from which they came admitted 
American goods at a corresponding reduction. The excess 
revenue was expended for pubhc buildings and other im- 
provements, and also to begin the construction of a modern 
navy. 

Federal pensions for Union soldiers. — Another law 
authorized a pension for every soldier who had served 
ninety days in the 
Union army during the 
War of Secession, pro- 
vided he was unable to 
support himself by 
manual labor. It also 
granted pensions to 
the widows, orphans 
and dependent parents. 
Fifty years after the 
war ended nearly a 
million persons still 
drew pensions, although 
but few of the veterans 
were alive. This large increase in the pension rolls created 
an expense that necessitated high taxes and diverted the 
attention of the public from the part manufacturers were 
taking in tariff legislation. 

Foreign difficulties. — Soon after the purchase of Alaska 
it became evident that the greed of hunters would quickly 
exterminate the seals unless the government restricted their 
operations. Congress enacted a law requiring all persons 
engaged in sealing to take out licenses and to observe the 
government regulations. The breeding grounds of the seals 
are the Pribilof Islands, off the coast of Alaska, and they 
belong to the United States. The animals live on fish, and 
at feeding time the herds leave the islands and go out to 
sea, often far beyond the nation's jurisdiction, which ex- 



How the Nation's Expenditures for 
Pensions Have Increased 



508 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



tends for three miles from shore. It was easy for poachers, 
or unHcensed sealers to anchor just beyond this limit and 
slaughter them in great numbers, especially the mother seals. 

This practise on the part 




Seals on the Beach of One of 
the Pribilof Islands 



of Canadians was en- 
couraged by Great Brit- 
ain, despite the protests 
of the United States that 
the Bering was a "closed 
sea" and that the seals 
were under its protec- 
tion at all times. In 1886 
United States cruisers 
doing patrol duty seized 
some Canadian sealing 
vessels and confiscated 
their cargoes of skins. This aroused British wrath and 
a heated correspondence ensued. Finally the matter was 
laid before an international tribunal for settlement. The 
decision was against the United States ; but since it estab- 
lished a "closed season" and forbade the killing of seals 
within sixty miles of the Pribilof Islands it was reasonably 
satisfactory. However, all the restrictions the government 
can impose are only delaying the process of extermination 
for the herds are constantly becoming smaller. 

In 1878 the United States had made a treaty with the 
native king of Tutuila, one of the Samoan Islands lying 
midway between our Pacific coast and Australia, by which 
a naval base for American war-ships cruising in that part of 
the Pacific was secured in the harbor of Pago Pago. In re- 
turn for this concession the king was promised aid in any 
emergency that might arise. Not long after this, a suc- 
cessor got into trouble with the German consul, who had 
raised his country's flag. In the riot which ensued several 
sailors from a German war vessel in the harbor were killed. 



A REPUBLICAN VICTORY 



509 



Great Britain rushed cruisers to the scene to share in what- 
ever arrangements might follow. War seemed imminent for 
a time ; but in 1889 the three nations agreed to establish a 
joint protectorate over the Samoan Islands. As this did not 



172* 




Saw, 



A», 



3?^^ 171' West Lohutuoe 170' 



o 



^ 



^' 



""OLo 



-fo- 



<l 



c 



■^y o Ip ZO 3,0 ^.O 50 
2^/ SCALE OF WILES 



The Samoan Islands 



<0N^' 



.cy 



.6^ 



QO(- — ^ 

Paoo Pa<.o 






,.^^ 



prove satisfactory, ten years later the United States secured 
possession of Tutuila, and disclaimed any further responsi- 
bility for the rest of the islands. 

The Hawaiian Islands had long been dominated by Amer- 
ican missionaries and traders. In 1893 some of the Amer- 
ican residents with the aid of discontented natives revolted 





'Camp Boston" — the Building in Honolulu Where the U. S. Marines 
Had Their Barracks after the Overthrow of the Monarchy 



510 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

against the rule of the native queen, Liliuokalani. An 
American war-ship lay in the harbor at the time and under 
its protection the Republic of Hawaii was proclaimed. As 
Texas had done fifty years before, the new republic sought 
annexation to the United States. President Harrison agreed 
with its agents on a treaty which he submitted to the Senate 
for approval. As this treaty was still under consideration 
when Cleveland became president for the second time, on 
March 4, 1893, he at once withdrew it, believing the whole 
afTair to be a high-handed piece of business in which 
the United States was more or less involved. Later he rec- 
ommended the restoration of Queen Liliuokalani to her 
throne ; but Congress decided to have nothing to do with 
Hawaiian affairs. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. Describe the method of voting before the adoption of the 

Australian ballot. What are the advantages of the latter? 
What class of politicians opposed it? 

2. Can you give some reasons why the Democrats have been in 

power so little since the War of Secession? 

3. How do the Democratic and Republican parties differ on the 

tariff question? Explain why a cotton farmer and a sugar 
planter of the same state may occupy different positions on 
the tariff question. What is a reciprocity agreement between 
two nations? 

4. Did the Canadians have a legal right to slaughter seals when 

they were more than three miles from the shore of the Prib- 
ilof Islands? Explain your answer. 

5. Why is the harbor of Pago Pago of such importance to the 

United States? Will the importance increase or decrease as 
time passes? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. Arguments for and against protective tariff. 

2. The pork barrel methods of Congress. 

3. The United States Government should ])ension the Confederate 

soldiers. 

REFERENCE 

Elson's Side Lights on American History, Vol. II, Chapter XIII. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 
THE DEMOCRATS REGAIN PUBLIC OFFICE 



Grover Cleveland, President, iSg_^-iSp/ 

Cleveland elected for a second term. — The campaign of 
1892 is notable for the part taken by the newly organized 
People's party, with General James B. Weaver as its nomi- 
nee. In this platform the Populists, as its members were 
called, advocated many innovations which shocked both Re- 
publicans and Democrats. They proposed public ownership 
of railroads, telegraph and telephone lines, and similar public 
utilities ; a tax on all incomes of more than four thousand 
dollars ; government loans at two per cent, interest to farm- 
ers, secured by certain of their products ; and no more issu- 




Q Harrison 

□ Cleveland 

§H Weaver 

■ Terrifories-No Vofe 



Distribution of Electoral Votes in the Election of 1892 
511 



512 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

ance of currency by national banks. They also favored the 
free and unlimited coinage of gold and silver at the ratio 
of sixteen to one. 

The Republicans renominated President Harrison, and 
the Democrats put forward ex-President Cleveland for a 
third time. The main issue between them was the McKinley 
Tariff. The enactment of that law with its ten per cent, in- 
crease in duties had been followed by a rise in prices far in 
excess of the extra taxes. As a result large numbers of 
those who had supported a high tariff in 1888 went over to 
the Populists and Democrats. 

By the election of Cleveland and a majority in both houses 
of Congress the Democrats secured control of the govern- 
ment for the first time since 1858. The Populists surprised 
the country by polling over a million votes, and actually 
carrying Kansas, Colorado, Idaho and Nevada. 

The panic of 1893. — In the spring of 1893 business was 
apparently good and the wonderful progress of the nation 
was about to be celebrated by throwing open to the public 
the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago. But the 
trained eye of the banker had detected the symptoms of an 
unhealthy financial condition and already the banks had be- 
gun to curtail their loans. For fourteen years business had 
been expanding and the country had become so extravagant 
that it was spending more money than it earned. Speculation 
on borrowed capital was rife ; thousands of miles of needless 
railroads had been constructed, and many unnecessary fac- 
tories built. 

The Sherman Act had been followed by a tremendous in- 
crease in the volume of paper money. As soon as it became 
apparent that "hard times" were at hand the people began 
to demand gold and to refuse silver because of its great de- 
preciation. In self-protection the bankers presented such 
large quantities of currency to the Treasury for redeni]:)tion 
that the government's gold reserve fell below one hundred 



THE DEMOCRATS REGAIN OFFICE 



513 



million dollars, long since regarded as the limit of safety. 
Meanwhile, foreigners holding American securities began 
to sell them and this occasioned a further drain on the 
nation's gold supply. 

The crash came during the summer of 1893 when every 
one became frightened at the same time. Banks called 
their loans, merchants tried to collect immediately their out- 
standing accounts ; business became paralyzed ; stocks of 




A Free Soup Kitchen in Chicago during the Winter of 1893-94 



goods remained inactive on the shelves ; manufacturers had 
to shut down or reduce wages and shorten hours; railway 
companies were forced to take off trains and discharge em- 
ployees. Thousands of men and women tramped the streets 
in search of employment and families were broken up by 
the fathers and other "bread-earners" leaving home to seek 
work in distant localities. Hundreds of banks failed, thou- 
sands of business firms went into bankruptcy ; and many 
persons lost every dollar they had. Charitable organizations 
established bread lines and soup kitchens for the relief of 



514 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

the hungry, and begging and thieving became a menace to 
society. 

During the spring of 1894 "General" Jacob S. Coxey as- 
sembled in Ohio an "army" of five hundred unemployed 
men and marched with them to Washington. Arriving at the 
Capitol on May Day they demanded government jobs for 
all idle persons. Congress completely ignored them and 
continued with its effort to enact such laws as would remove 
the cause of the disturbances and protect the country against 
a recurrence. 

Congress to the rescue. — President Cleveland attrib- 
uted the panic to the drain upon the nation's gold supply, 
caused by the purchase of silver under the Sherman Act 
with certificates redeemable in gold coin. Calling a special 
session of Congress, he urged the repeal of the law, and this 
brought on a terrific fight. Fearful of losing a market for 
their bullion, the silver states — Montana, Idaho, Utah, Ne- 
vada, Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota — offered de- 
termined opposition and in this were aided by the Populists. 
Their congressmen argued that gold was too scarce to serve 
as a sole basis for the currency, and that with free coinage 
of silver at sixteen to one business would' soon right itself. 
In the end enough Republicans joined with the president's 
followers to repeal the law. 

Still business did not improve and each party accounted 
for the depression in a different way. The Democrats in- 
sisted that the protective tariff was responsible ; the Repub- 
licans claimed it was fear that the Democrats would "tinker" 
with the tariff. At last Congress enacted the "Wilson Bill," 
so named from its author, Representative William L. 
Wilson, of West Virginia. This bill originally provided for 
a material reduction in duties, but was amended by the Sen- 
ate until it really gave little relief. President Cleveland was 
so dissatisfied with the measure that he allowed it to become 
a law without his signature. 



THIC DEMOCRATS REGAIN OFFICE SIS 

The growth of organized labor. — As we have already 
seen, mechanics and factory workers began to organize 
local unions about 1825, and these "federated" or formed 
national unions not long after the extension of the railroads 
made traveling easier and less expensive. In those days 
labor troubles seldom occurred, for employers were usually 
men who had begun in the shops and worked up to their 
present positions, and therefore were able to deal sympa- 
thetically with the problems which arose. Immediately 
after the War of Secession, not only did the railroads begin 
to consolidate and form large corporations, but also the 
owners of mines and factories. It was natural for working 
men to think they must combine or be ground down in order 
to pay larger dividends to the stockholders. 

Shortage of labor during the war had given them an op- 
portunity to secure higher wages, and they determined to 
resist a return to the old schedules. In 1863 the Brother- 
hood of Locomotive Engineers had been organized and in 
this wage contest its benefits were so apparent that soon 
many dififerent trades organized both local and national 
unions. In 1869 a grand union of all trades was formed 
— "The Noble Order of the Knights of Labor" — and within 
fifteen years enrolled over a million members. The 
"Knights" demanded an eight-hour working day, sanitary 
shops and workrooms, safety devices in mines, foundries 
and factories, weekly payment of wages in money, and lia- 
bility of the employer for damages in case of injury to a 
workman. They objected to hiring out prisoners to manu- 
facturers — a common practise of the states at that time — and 
also to the importation of cheap foreign labor under con- 
tract. 

The open shop versus the closed shop. — In the early 
days differences with employees of a railroad, factory or 
mine were adjusted in conferences attended by the man- 
agers and a committee of the workmen. As most con- 



516 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




: hU *»vr>e(j thr D«.Ui 






r.6l 



cerns operated under the "open shop" system, that is, 
employed both union and non-union labor, frequently 
members of the committee would not be union men. To 
prevent this the unions insisted that their officers should 
conduct the negotiations for the whole body of workmen, 
and not long afterward the national officers began to appear 
at the meetings, claiming the right to speak, on the theory 
that "an injury to one is the concern of all." Most employ- 
ers were unwilling to allow union officials to speak for their 
non-union workmen, and refused to confer at all with na- 
.tional officials not in their employ. As a result a demand 

was made for 
"closed shops," 
that is, the em- 
ployment of 
none but those 
carrying union 
cards. The pow- 
er of the unions 
was so great that 
many employers 
yielded, and in 
return for the 
concession were 
allowed to label 
their products as "union made." Others, on the contrary, 
not only refused, but even retaliated by operating strictly 
non-union shops. As a result, much ill feeling arose be- 
tween capital, as the employers were popularly called be- 
cause they supplied the money, and labor. 

The American Federation of Labor. — Weakened by 
dissensions the Knights of Labor began to lose their influ- 
ence and eventually gave way to the American Federation 
of Labor. This new organization was started in 1881 and 
by 1920 had a membership of 4,078,740. Controlling thou- 



feartip «, ihe I.VIH<NATIONAI PHOTtS E-NGBA\ LRs 
iO(;s 1 bCHtiARy i«v Tim, 
■ Du<-o( !»!.»«« m Loal No. // ■•\. '' -f ^ v." it^<^<?^ 



UNION <.( NORTH AMERICA, 



Facsimile of a Union Card 

Notice the stamps affixed to show that the monthly 

assessments have been paid 



THE DEMOCRATS REGAIN OFFICE 



517 




Growth of the American Federation' -r^' 
of Labor from 1881 to 1920 '"H^ 



sands of votes, it 
is able to compel 
the enactment of 
laws favorable to 
organized labor 
and exerts a 
mighty influence f> 
in the land. Un- i^ 
like the Knights J. 
of Labor, the I 
American Federa- 
tion permits each 
national union to 
conduct its own 
negotiations with 
employers, and in- 
tervenes only 
when the disputes afifect the interests of all labor. 

Labor disturbances. — When workmen are unable to in- 
duce their employers to grant the wages, hours or working 
conditions they desire, their only alternative is to quit work. 
If this is done in a body, and under the direction of union 
officials, they are said to go on a "strike." The first serious 
strike in the history of the country occurred in 1877. Dur- 
ing the panic four years before most railroads and mining 
and industrial concerns had lost money, and when condi- 
tions began to improve the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and 
the Petmsylvania Railway reduced the wages of their em- 
ployees. The brakemen and other trainmen "struck" and the 
disturbance spread so rapidly that in a few days it involved 
nearly all the western and southern lines. For two weeks 
not a wheel turned on all these roads, business everywhere 
was paralyzed, and much suffering was occasioned from 
lack of food, especially in crowded cities. The strikers at- 
tempted to prevent the companies from employing new men 



518 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



as "strike breakers" and in many places resorted to violence. 
Irresponsible mobs seized railway stations, freight houses 
and shops, destroying property in Pittsburgh and other cities 
to the value of ten million dollars. At last President Hayes 




Destruction Wrought by the Mob at Pittsburgh 

Notice the remains of burnt freight cars in the foreground 
and the burning round-house 

sent United States troops to reinforce the state militia 
which was under arms, and order was soon restored. So 
wide-spread was the sympathy of unions for the strikers 
that workers in many lines struck when their employers per- 
sisted in shipping goods over the roads which had resumed 
operations with the aid of "scabs," as the strike breakers 
were called. 

In 1886 St. Louis and Chicago were the centers of serious 
strikes. The trouble started with a dispute between the 
Knights of Labor and some of the railroads, and was fol- 
lowed by sympathetic strikes which eventually involved most 
of the cities of the central and eastern states. Thousands of 
railway men, street-car employees, factory operatives and 
miners quit their work and became a menace to public safety. 

In Chicago, during a labor meeting held in Haymarket 



THE DEMOCRATS U I ".CAIN OFFTCl' 



519 



Square, one of the speakers was urging the use of violence. 
When the poHce attempted to arrest the man a riot broke 
out, and an anarchist sympathizer threw a bomb filled with 
dynamite into the police, killing many and wounding almost 
fifty. This act so thoroughly aroused the public that the 
labor leaders attempted no interference when the govern- 
ment hanged four persons concerned in the outrage and 



f 



1 




Federal Troops Guarding Train Engaged in Interstate 
Commerce during the Strike of 1894 



adopted a stern policy toward those who would employ 
violence to accomplish their ends. 

As we have seen, the approach of the panic of 1893 
caused such a business depression that many concerns were 
compelled to reduce wages. When the Carnegie Steel 
Works at Homestead, Pennsylvania, attempted to do this, 
thousands of the employees struck. The company had hired 
a large force of guards to protect its property from injury. 
Many of the strikers armed themselves and before long col- 
lisions occurred in which a considerable number of persons 



520 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



were killed, and order had to be restored by the state 
militia. 

One of the worst strikes in the history of the country 
occurred the next year when business was struggling to 
recover from the panic. It was confined largely to railway 
men and coal miners. Feeling the need of reducing ex- 
penses the Pullman Car Company offered its employees in 
the shops at Pullman, a suburb of Chicago, a lowered wage 
scale. Their refusal to arbitrate the question with the union 
officials caused three thousand men to strike and resulted, 
through "sympathetic strikes," in "tying up" nearly every 
railroad in the West and South. Traffic was at a standstill 
for three weeks. Millions of dollars' worth of perishable 
merchandise, such as meat, eggs, butter, fruits and vegeta- 
bles spoiled in transit. As in 1877, mines and factories had 
to shut down, and men and women were thrown out of work 
and actually threatened with starvation. At last President 
Cleveland decided that interference with the mails and in- 
terstate commerce must cease. Accordingly, he sent Federal 
troops to Illinois, over the protest of the governor of the 
state, and with this protection the companies at once re- 
established train service. The strike soon collapsed, but not 
until it had cost both sides over seven million dollars in lost 
earnings and wages. 

The Monroe Doctrine on trial. — Ever since securing 

her independence 
from Spain (1821) 
Venezuela had been 
disputing with Great 
P)ritain over the 
boundary between 
her territory and the 
])rovince of British 
Guiana. Great Brit- 
ain seemed disposed 



tS'TwiMIDAD Is. 




>,^^Xp*) 



6<''We»t Lonoituoc *° 



Where the Venezuelan Boundary 
Dispute Arose 



THE DEMOCRATS REGAIN OFFICE 521 

to disregard Venezuela's rights because the repubHc was too 
weak to resist, and to demand such a boundary as suited her 
own interests. Relations between the two countries had 
become so strained by 1895 that the United States made 
one more effort to induce Great Britain to submit the dis- 
pute to arbitration. A sharp reply came from the British 
Government telling the Washington authorities that it could 
settle the matter without any assistance. Cleveland then 
warned Great Britain that if in the settlement she secured 
any territory not hers in 1821, it would be regarded as a 
violation of the Monroe Doctrine. Still obdurate, the Brit- 
ish intimated that the Monroe Doctrine was, in their opin- 
ion, not binding. The president immediately sent a vig- 
orous message to Congress, which made clear that he was 
ready to employ force to protect Venezuela and uphold the 
Doctrine. Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic indulged 
in war talk; but at last (1897) cooler counsels prevailed in 
London and the government referred the dispute to a court 
of arbitration by which it was settled two years later. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. State one thing that the Democratic party to-day regards as a 

part of its platform that the PopuUst party advocated in 1892. 
Why was the Popuhst party considered sociaHstic? 

2. Find out the meaning of "panic." Show that President Cleve- 

land was not entirely responsible for the one in 1893. 

3. Show why working men found it to their interest to com- 

bine when the railroads, mines, factories, etc., began to con- 
solidate. How do you account for such a great lack of sym- 
pathy between the employers and laborers? What is a labor 
union? State some of the demands of the labor unions. Ex- 
plain why labor unions object to arbitration as a means of 
settling labor disputes. 

4. What is the chief way labor unions enforce their demands? 

Explain the following : open shop, closed shop, strike, lockout 
and boycott. 

5. Explain just how the Monroe Doctrine was involved in the 

Venezuelan boundary dispute of 1895. 



CHAPTER XXXIX 

THE UNITED STATES BECOMES A 
WORLD POWER 

William McKinlcy, President, iS^y-igoi 



The election of 1896. — Excitement over the possibility 
of war with Great Britain had scarcely subsided when the 
country was upset by the bitter campaign of 1896. Party 
feeling ran high over the tariff question and whether gold 
only or both gold and silver should be made the basis of the 
nation's monetary system. When the Republicans held their 
convention they nominated William McKinley, of Ohio, 
author of the tariff act of 1890, on a platform favoring a 
high protective tariff and a gold standard, and promised a 
"full dinner pail" to every working man. So dissatisfied 




□ McKinley 

cm Bryan 

M Territ-ory- No Vohe 

Distribution of Electoral Votes in the Election of 1896 
522 



UNITED STATES BECOMES A WORLD POWER 523 



were the delegates from the silver states that twenty-one of 
them withdrew from the party. 

Refusing to follow the lead of President Cleveland, who 
advocated a gold standard, the Democrats declared for bi- 
metalism, that is, the free and unlimited coinage of both 
gold and silver at the old ratio of sixteen to one. They 
chose as a candidate William J. Bryan, orator-newspaper 
man from Nebraska. This caused many eastern Gold Dem- 
ocrats to leave the party and put out a ticket of their own. 
In the election Bryan's eloquent protest against "crucifying 
Labor on a cross of gold" won many Silver Republicans 
and Populists, but enough Gold Democrats "bolted" their 
ticket to offset this loss, and INIcKinley was elected and a 
Republican majority in Congress as well. 

Gold is discovered in Alaska. — While the Democrats 
were arguing that there was not enough gold to serve as a 
sole basis for the monetary system, events were happening 
in the North destined to upset their calculations completely. 
Late in 1896 a prospector from Illinois discovered rich de- 
posits of gold along the 
Klondike River, in the 
region near the boundary 
line separating Canada's 
Yukon territory from 
Alaska. Within two 
months five million dol- 
lars' worth of gold had 
been taken from the 
"diggings" and an un- 
precedented rush of for- 
tune-seekers — men and 
women — had begun, re- 
gardless of mountain 

barriers and intense cold. CHm'^i^g tlie Snow-covered Trail 

tlirough Chilcoot Pass on the 
As the output of the new Way to the Klondike in 1896-97 




j:%% 



524 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

mines became available a great change occurred in the rela- 
tive values of gold and silver — either gold fell or silver rose. 

A new tariff law. — Soon after his inauguration, Presi- 
dent McKinley called a special session of Congress to 
revise the tariff again. The Dingley Act was passed, 
restoring the duty on woolen goods which had been re- 
moved by the \\ ilson law, and raising the rates in gen- 
eral higher than they had been since the War of Se- 
cession. 

Cuba long a source of trouble. — Cuba was a prosperous 
Spanish colony long before even Jamestown was settled. 
According to the Spanish system colonies were despoiled of 
their wealth to enrich the king and a coterie of corrupt 
grandees, whose one ambition was to amass fortunes from 
the plantations by means of cheap labor, and then to return 
to Spain. As a result Spanish rule became so hated that 
soon after the colonies on the mainland revolted Cuba 
did likewise (1838-1842). Thenceforth the history of the 
island consisted of continual uprisings on the part of the 
natives and their suppression by Spain in a most cruel 
manner. 

Cuba and the Ostend Manifesto. — Frequent filibuster- I 
ing expeditions were fitted out by wealthy Cubans living 
in the United States, with the assistance of other sympa- 
thizers, and despatched from American ports to aid the J 
cause of ''Cuba Libre." So concerned were Great Britain 
and France over this filibustering that in 1853 they re- 
quested the United States to disavow forever any intention 
of acquiring Cuba. This request, however, was refused, 
and the next year President Pierce made an effort to pur- 
chase the island for one hundred million dollars, in order 
to satisfy the southern demand for more slave territory. 
This failed and, as we have seen, the relations between the 
United States and Spain were badly strained by the un- 
fortunate Ostend Manifesto. 



UNITED STATES BECOMES A WORLD POWER 525 

Cuba revolts from Spain. — In 1868 a part of the Cubans 
revolted and set up a provisional government. The con- 
flict dragged on for years and, although President Grant 
tried to preserve strict neutrality, conditions became so 
intolerable that at last he notified Spain peace must be re- 
stored (1875). This warning was heeded and such vigor- 
ous efforts were made that within three years the rebellion 
had been put down. Cuba was promised reforms in its 
government and an emancipation of the slaves. In 1895 
intelligent Cubans, aided with money from friends in the 
United. States, started a new revolution and proclaimed 
the island an independent republic. 

These disorders were of deep concern to the United 
States. Her citizens had fifty million dollars invested on 
the island and their Cuban imports and exports amounted 
to fully one hundred million dollars a year. So poorly gov- 
erned a region within a hundred miles of Key West was a 
constant menace to the country. ]\Ioreover, Spain's disre- 



,,^^ 







t 



BAHAMA 




60 \ZO 180 240 

5CAlE of miles 



Cuba and Its Relation to Florida 



526 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

gard of sanitary measures was responsible for many of the 
yellow fever epidemics that swept over the Southern States 
every few years, taking a toll of thousands of lives. 

Spanish cruelty in Cuba. — The governor, General 
Campos, defeated the revolutionists at Matanzas, but the 
insurrection continued its course from eastern Cuba to the 
western provinces. In a few months the whole island was 
literally ablaze, for the patriots not only set fire to the rich 
plantations btit even burned the crops in the fields. Alarmed 
by the progress of the revolt, Spain made a mighty effort to 
crush the Cubans by a regime of the severest cruelty. For 
this work she chose the inhuman General Weyler, who was 
sent over to succeed Campos. With the aid of a large army 
Weyler inaugurated the "reconcentration policy." This re- 
quired the Cubans who lived in rural districts to leave their 
homes and move to large camps in the suburbs of the cities. 
Here, herded like beasts, they were easily prevented from 
assisting the patriot cause. Meanwhile their farms were 
despoiled and their villages burned in an effort to starve 
the "rebels" into submission. Fully one hundred and fifty 
thousand Cubans died in these reconcentration camps be- 
cause of insufficient food and lack of sanitation. 

Reports of Weyler's cruelty aroused such indignation in 
the United States that President Cleveland found the preser- 
vation of neutrality extremely difficult, especially since many 
congressmen favored the recognition of Cuban independence. 
In the campaign of 1896 the Republican platform went so 
far as to assert it was the duty of the United States to 
"use its influence and good offices to restore peace and give 
independence to Cuba." 

Of course all trade with the island was paralyzed and 
claims amounting to millions of dollars were piling up against 
Spain for damages sustained by American citizens in Cuba. 
The American press boldly denounced Spanish misrule and 
devoted much space to Weyler's brutality and the suffer- 



UNITED STATES BECOMES A WORLD POWER 527 

ing of the Cubans. Agencies in New York and other cities 
were raising money to send supplies and equip fihbustering 
expeditions. As a result of all this Spain naturally became 
very indignant, and showed her resentment by arresting in 
Cuba newspaper men and other citizens of the United States 
who were suspected of sympathizing with the revolutionists. 

The United States demands Cuban independence. — 
Early in his administration President McKinley remon- 
strated with Spain without avail. On his recommendation 
Congress voted fifty thousand dollars for Cuban relief work, 
and the American Red Cross sent to the island a band of 
workers, headed by Miss Clara Barton, to dispense charity 
to the sick and needy. In order to give the United States 
no excuse for intervention, Spain recalled Weyler, and his 
successor. General Blanco, adopted milder measures. A 
proclamation issued a few days before Congress met (No- 
vember twenty-fifth) granted the Cubans a parliament with 
a limited amount of self-government. However, it came too 
late, for the patriots were now bent on "independence or 
death." Moreover, the Spanish residents were so opposed 
to the concession that in Havana and other cities they made 
"home rule" a farce. 

Negotiations between President McKinley and the Span- 
ish Government continued, but before anything was accom- 
plished an unexpected event brought matters to a head. 
Early in 1898 Spain had been compelled to recall her min- 
ister because he had spoken disrespectfully of the president 
in a letter which had fallen into the hands of a New York 
newspaper. 

The Maine is blown up in Havana harbor. — Hardly 
had he left before word was flashed over the cable that on 
the night of February fifteenth the United States battle-ship 
Maine, at anchor in Havana harbor to protect American cit- 
izens, had been blown up. In this frightful catastrophe two 
hundred and sixtv-six of the crew lost their lives. Assum- 



528 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

ing Spain responsible, a demand for war arose from every 
section of the country, and "Remember the Maine !" became 
the slogan of the day. A naval court of inquiry spent four 
weeks investigating the affair and, although Spain denied 
any knowledge of the explosion, decided that it had been 
caused by a submarine mine. 

Realizing now the seriousness of the situation, the Span- 
ish Government assented to nearly everything the president 
asked, including self-government for the Cubans. Regard- 









- 


^ 










^ 




T 






1* 


■^'^ 


^^?M- V '" 




IL 


:^r^ 


L- 



The Wreck of the Maine 

less of this, and urged on by the impatience of i)oliticians, 
McKinley decided to refer the whole matter to Congress 
with a recommendation for intervention. On April 11, 
1898, he addressed a message to it declaring, "In the name 
of humanity, in the name of civilization, in behalf of en- 
dangered American interests which give us the right to 
speak and act, the war in Cuba must stop." Eight days later 
a joint resolution was passed recogniz.ing the independence 
of the Cuban Republic and demanding tliat Spain withdraw 
her troops and relinquish all control over the island. In the 
event of refusal on the part of Spain, the president was em- 
powered to employ the -nationf* land and naval forces to 
compel acquiescence. /L groclamatjon. was made, to the 



UNITED STATES BECOMES A WORLD POWER 529 

world that the United States only intended to exercise con- 
trol over Cuba long enough to establish peace and order, and 
that when this should be accomplished the government of the 
island would be left in the hands of the Cubans. 

Spain declares war upon the United States. — As was 
expected, Spain refused to withdraw, and declared war 
on the United States. The day after (April twenty-fifth). 
Congress passed another resolution declaring that war had 
existed since April twenty-first. The president called for 
two hundred thousand volunteers and each section vied with 
the others in filling its quota first. Among the officers were 
many who had worn "the blue and the gray" thirty years be- 
fore. United now in a common cause, and proving by this 
action that there was no North, no South — instead a re- 
united America to which all were proud to yield allegiance. 
Internal revenue taxes were levied on checks, legal docu- 
ments, patent medicines, etc., as was done during the War 
of Secession. A bond issue of two hundred million dollars 




The Battle of Manila 



530 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



at three per cent, interest was eagerly subscribed for, so 
popular was this war in behalf of a downtrodden people. 

Dewey captures the Philippines. — When hostilities 
looked imminent, Commodore Dewey, in command of the 
Asiatic squadron, was ordered to remain at Hong Kong 
and await developments. As soon as Congress had declared 

the nation at war, he 
proceeded to the Phil- 
ippine Islands where 
he knew an insurrec- 
tion against Spanish 
power was in prog- 
ress. In the harbor 
of Manila a small 
Spanish fleet was an- 
chored under the pro- 
tection of strong shore 
batteries. Just at 
dawn May 1, 1898. 
Dewey steamed into 
Manila Bay with his 
squadron and gave 
battle to the Spanish 
fleet. Although ex- 
posed to a heavy bom- 
bardment by the forts, 
the American cruisers 
were able to sink or burn, in four hours, the ten vessels com- 
posing it. Over twelve hundred Spaniards lay dead or 
wounded, while Dewey sustained no losses, and had only 
eight men wounded. No attempt was made to take Manila 
for it could not have been held by the small force of marines 
with the fleet. 

Congress immediately made Dewey a rear admiral and 
the War Department sent twenty thousand men under com- 




The Philippine Islands 



UNITED STATES BECOMES A WORLD POWER 531 




riiuta from Underwood & Underwood 

George Dewey 



mand of General Wes- 
ley Merritt to aid in 
capturing Manila and 
overthrowing Spanish 
rule in the Philippines. 
The thirteen thousand 
soldiers defending the 
city could not with- 
stand the combined 
land and naval attack, 
and on August third 
Manila surrendered. 
Hostilities between 
the two countries were 
already ended, but the 
news had not yet 
reached the Philip- 
pines, for there was 

no direct cable at that time. As Manila is the key to the 
whole archipelago its capture marked the end of Spanish 
power there. 

The Cuban campaign. — As soon as war was declared 
Rear Admiral Sampson, commanding the Atlantic squadron, 
was ordered to blockade Cuba so as to prevent Spain from 
reinforcing her armies on the island. A Spanish fleet, un- 
der command of Admiral Cervera, was known to have been 
at the Cape Verde Islands on April twenty-fifth, and it was 
not improbable this fleet would cross the Atlantic and at- 
tempt to bombard some of the coast cities in the United 
States. To prevent it Commodore W. S. Schley was put in 
command of a "flying squadron" with orders to keep watch 
of Cervera's movements and be ready to join the Oregon, 
then on its way up the South American coast to take part 
in the Cuban blockade. The Spanish fleet succeeded, how- 
ever, in eluding Schley and when located was anchored 



532 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

safely in Santiago harbor, on the southern coast of Cuba, 
engaged in coahng and taking on supphes. 

In order to "bottle up" Cervera and prevent his putting 
to sea, Schley stationed the flying squadron just outside the 
entrance to the harbor. For fear lest some dark night he 
might slip through this cordon, the Americans decided to 
try "putting a cork in the bottle" by sinking the collier Mer- 
rimac directly in the narrow channel through which the 
Spanish would have to steam. Lieutenant Hobson volun- 
teered to take command of this dangerous undertaking and 
had almost succeeded when the Merrimac was discovered by 
the enemy. A volley from one of their shore batteries ren- 
dered her unmanageable and as a result the sinking did not 
occur at the place intended. 

On the morning of July third. Admiral Cervera made his 
expected dash for the open sea. Commodore Schley's squad- 
ron was ready, and within a few hours all six of the Spanish 
vessels were either destroyed or captured, with a loss of 
nearly six hundred men. Once more the American casual- 
ties were almost negligible — one killed and one wounded. 

Meanwhile, the United States had been assembling its 
land forces in training camps along the coast of Florida and 
in other Southern States. Shortly after Cervera reached 
Santiago seventeen thousand troops were sent to Cuba to 
take that city and assist in destroying the Spanish fleet. By 
June twenty-second the army had disembarked and General 
W. R. Shafter was able to begin his overland march with 
the cavalry, commanded by General Joseph Wheeler, an 
ex-Confederate army ofticer, leading the way. Progress 
was slow and difficult for the roads were only rough trails, 
frequently crossed by mountain torrents. The intense heat 
and humidity of tropical jungles threatened the soldiers 
with fevers more deadly than Spanish bullets. Under 
these conditions the advance of his heavy artillery was 
so slow that Shafter decided not to wait for it, but to push 



UNITED STATES BECOMES A WORLD POWER 533 

on and attack the outposts of the city. On July first, two 
strongly fortified positions, El Caney and San Juan Hill, 
were taken after severe fighting in which the "Rough 
Riders," organized by Leonard Wood and Theodore Roose- 
velt, won renown for their prowess. 

Tbe Spanish fell back into Santiago, and sustained a 
bombardment for two weeks after Cervera's ill-fated 
attempt to escape. Unable to hold out longer, the city sur- 




American Troops Storming the Blockhouse at El Caney 

rendered and twenty- four thousand Spanish soldiers became 
prisoners of war. With the fall of Santiago all of eastern 
Cuba fell into the hands of the Americans at a cost of only 
about fifteen hundred casualties. 

The invasion of Porto Rico.— After the fall of Santiago, 
General Nelson A. Miles, commander of the United States 
Army, was sent to occupy Porto Rico, and put a stop to 



534 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

Spanish rule there. His troops landed and were rapidly 
overrunning the island, taking one town after another, when 
the news came, on August twelfth, that Spain had sued for 
peace. At the beginning of hostilities the Spanish Gov- 
ernment had entrusted to the French ambassador at Wash- 
ington the care of its interests, and now through hirti she 
agreed to the protocol, or preliminary treaty, by which the 
war was brought to an end. 

Results of the war. — In the final treaty signed at Paris 
on December 10, 1898, it was agreed that: 

(1) Spain should recognize the independence of Cuba. 

(2) Spain should cede to the United States Porto Rico 
and some small Spanish islands in the West Indies ; Guam, 
one of the Ladrone Islands in the Pacific Ocean ; and the 
Philippine Islands. 

(3) The United States should pay Spain twenty million 
dollars in compensation for the Philippines. 

In the Teller Resolution, passed at the time Congress rec- 
ognized the independence of Cuba, it was declared that the 
island would not be annexed. Accordingly, a protectorate 
was established and a small military force stationed there 
to administer its affairs until such time as the people should 
adopt a constitution and organize a permanent government. 




United States Troops Landing in Cuba 



UNITED STATES BECOMES A WORLD POWER 535 

In 1901, Congress insisted that the Cuban Republic grant 
to the United States certain sites for naval stations, and that 
it never enter into any agreement with a foreign power 
which might be considered detrimental to American inter- 
ests. The right of intervention whenever necessary to pre- 
serve order was also reserved by the United States. The 
next year the American troops were withdrawn and Cuba 
was launched on its career as an independent nation. Only 
four years later, however, they had to return, for one of 
the Cuban factions was attempting to overthrow the will 
of the majority, by revolution, and had compelled the presi- 
dent to resign. After remaining three years they were 
withdrawn and Cuba was again allowed to go her own way. 

During their occupancy the Americans had revived in- 
dustry, established a school system, built sewers and 
cleaned up the fever-haunted cities. In connection with 
this sanitary work, army surgeons at Havana discovered 
that mosc^uitos were carriers of the yellow fever germ, and 
that by keeping them away from those sick with the disease 
it could easily be controlled and epidemics prevented. 

Porto Rico was glad to exchange the domination of Spain 
for that of the United States. It was organized as a terri- 
tory with a governor appointed by the president and a legis- 
lature elected by the citizens. In 1899 the island was devas- 
tated by a West India hurricane and to assist in relieving its 
distress Congress voted to return two million dollars col- 
lected as duties on goods exported to the United States since 
it had been a territory, and that in the future all trade with 
the island should be free. 

Trouble in the Philippines. — Under the leadership of 
Don Kmilio Aguinaldo, the Filipinos had taken up arms 
against Spain before the intervention of the United States. 
A so-called Philippine Republic had been proclaimed, and as 
they had cooperated with Dewey and Merritt in the cap- 
ture of Manila, the Revolutionists expected the islands tO 



536 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

be handed over to them. In January, 1899, the intent of the 
United States to keep the Phihppines became known, and 
Aguinaldo and his followers were so disappointed that they 
started an insurrection. Fighting began near Manila and 
for three years a desultory sort of warfare, characterized 
by much barbarity, was kept up. With the capture of the 
leader in the spring of 1901 the insurrection quickly went 
to pieces, and peace was restored. Meanwhile, the United 
States had set up a civil government to supplant that of the 
army, and the islands were administered by a governor and 
a commission of nine members appointed by the president. 
Later an insular legislature was authorized. The right to 
vote was conferred on all men able to speak English or 
Spanish and possessed of property valued at two hundred 
and fifty dollars or paying as much as fifteen dollars in 
taxes. An efftcient school system was established, courts 
organized, and many measures designed to promote sanita- 
tion and to advance the natives were enacted. The Philip- 
pines have never been a source of revenue to the United 
States ; in fact, the admission of their exports free of duty 
has cost the country millions of dollars. 

The division of China. — The w^ar between China and 
Japan (1894-1895) closed with the seizure by Japan of 
Formosa and other Chinese territory. Alarmed at Japanese 
encroachment on the mainland, Germany, Russia and France 
intervened and compelled restoration of a part of this ter- 
ritory. As a reward they forced China to permit a virtual 
annexation of areas along the coast known as "spheres of 
influence," while Great Britain also obtained a concession. 
In these they controlled trade and dictated the policy of 
the government solely with a view to the enhancement of 
their own influence in Chinese affairs. So serious was the 
situation that it began to look as if a partition of China was 
imminent. At last John Hay, McKinley's secretary of state, 
intervened and insisted on the "open door," that is, a guar- 



UNITED STATES BECOMES A WORLD POWER 537 

antee that all nations should enjoy equal trading rights in 
China (1899). 

The Boxer Rebellion. — The danger of dismemberment 
had excited alarm and resentment among many Chinese, and 
resulted in the Boxer Rebellion a year later. The "Boxers" 
were members of a Chinese secret society, always hostile to 
European interference with Chinese affairs. They rose 
against all foreigners and murdered many persons, includ- 
ing the German ambassador. At Peking the foreigners were 
forced to take refuge in the British legation, where they 
were immediately besieged. The United States, Japan and 
the leading powers of Europe then joined in sending an 
international force of seventeen thousand soldiers to Peking, 
and this quickly subdued the Boxers. China was compelled 
to settle for this outrage by the payment of large sums of 
money as indemnities, but her territorial integrity was left 
undisturbed. Regarding the sum awarded her as exces- 
sive, the United States returned a part of it and the money 
was used to pay for the education in American colleges 




The Hawaiian Islands 



538 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

of promising Chinese youths. In the settlement of this 
trouble, the United States injected a new and more Chris- 
tianlike principle into international relations, by insisting 
that the interests of the weaker nations must be guarded by 
the more powerful. 

Imperialism: a new political issue. — Up to 1898 the 
United States had no territory outside the North American 
continent except her small interest in the Samoan Islands. 
The injunctions of Washington and Jefferson had been 
heeded and the country had held aloof from the quarrels 
and intrigues of the Old World. The war with Spain had 
unexpectedly made her a world power. 

Porto Rico's million inhabitants occupied an area three 
times the size of Rhode Island. The Hawaiian Islands, 
which were finally annexed soon after the battle of Ma- 
nila, had added an area equaling Rhode Island and Connecti- 
cut, and furnished homes to over two hundred thousand na- 
tives, Chinese and Japanese. In the acquisition of the Philip- 
pines, the country gained control of territory as great as New 
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland, with eight 
million inhabitants. Among the three thousand islands of 
the archipelago lived at least a million savages, divided into 
many tribes differing in language and customs, some of 
whom were actual cannibals. Wake Island, an islet two 
thousand miles west of Hawaii, and Guam had also been 
acquired and found useful as naval stations. By arrange- 
ment with Great Britain and Germany joint control of the 
Samoan Islands had ended and the American flag floated in 
undisputed sway over Tutuila and five smaller islands. 

This new policy of acquiring colonial possessions, or 
"imperialism," as it was popularly termed, became a burn- 
ing issue in the campaign of 1900. It was denounced as 
dangerous by the Democrats, and so heartily approved by 
the Republicans that they renominated McKinley and asso- 
ciated with him Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, of Rough Rider 



UNITED STATES BECOMES A WORLD POWER 539 

fame, for the vice-presidency. With Wilham J. Bryan 
again as their leader the Democrats assailed the adminis- 
tration for waging war on a people like the Filipinos, who 
were struggling for independence, and demanded the grant- 
ing of it to them at an early date. Their orators urged the 
nation to return to the teachings of its fathers, and avoid 
foreign entanglements. The Republicans replied that the 




Government House at Agana, Guam 

Philippines had fallen to the country as an accident of war 
and that to abandon them would mean their seizure by one 
of the great European powers. It was America's duty to 
establish law and order and then train the people for self- 
government. 

The assassination of President McKinley. — McKinley 
and Roosevelt were elected. Six months after his inaugura- 
tion the president was shot by an anarchist while attend- 
ing a reception at Buffalo where the Pan-American Ex- 
position was then in progress. For eight days he lingered 
while the people prayed that he might be spared. With 
President McKinley 's death on September 14, 1901, anarchy 



540 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

had claimed another noble life as a victim to its fanaticism. 
A few hours later Vice-President Roosevelt took the oath 
of office and became president. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. Explain why the promise of a high protective tariff appeals to 

many working men during a political campaign. Who were 
the presidential candidates and what were the chief issues of 
the campaign of 1896? 

2. Why has the "free silver" question ceased to be a live issue since 

1898? 

3. Find a number of reasons wliy the United States was deeply 

concerned in the disorders in Cuba. 

4. Explain the Spanish policy of "reconcentration" in Cuba. 

5. What business did the battle-ship Mai)ic have in the harbor of 

Havana? 

6. State the important battles in the Spanish-American War and 

name some of the leading men on both sides. 

7. Tell how the Spanish-American War helped to bring the North 

and South closer together. 

8. Why did the United States declare, upon taking over Cuba, that 

it would control it only long enough to establish peace and 
order? 

9. Find a number of reasons why President McKinley took over 

the Philippines at the close of the war. What is to be the 
policy of the United States in dealing with these possessions 
in the remote future ? 
10. Did the United States violate the Monroe Doctrine in bringing 
on the war with Spain? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. The policy of isolation pursued by the United States until the 

nation became a world power. 

2. The difference between the Monroe Doctrine and the policy of 

political isolation. 

REFERENCES 

1. Elson's Side Liglits on .Imcrican History, Vol. H, Chapter XIV. 

2. Letane's From Isolation to Leadership. 

3. Hart's Source Book, pp. 373-390. 



CHAPTER XL 

A NEW AMERICAN SPIRIT 

Theodore Roosevelt, President, ipoi-ipop 
IVilliam H. Taft, President, ipop-ipi^ 



The man Roosevelt. — Theodore Roosevelt, suddenly 
elevated to the presidency by the act of an assassin, was the 
most versatile man that has ever presided over the destinies 
of the nation. With a Dutch ancestry reaching back to the 
days of New Amster- 
dam, the Roosevelts 
were one of the old aris- 
tocratic families of New 
York. At the age of 
twenty-three Theodore 
entered politics and from 
then until his death in 
1919 was constantly be- 
fore the public. Always 
a believer in "being 
ready," it was he who, 
as assistant secretary of 
the navy, was responsi- 
ble for whatever prepar- 
edness the American 
navy possessed when the 
war with Spain began. 
It was Roosevelt who in 
a few weeks organized 




Theodore Roosevelt 



541 



542 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

that motley but intrepid regiment of cowboys, bear hunters, 
stage drivers, policemen, college students and Indians, 
known as the "Rough Riders," and it was the famous 
charge of this regiment at San Juan Hill, with its fearless 
colonel in the lead, that made him the popular hero of the 
war. 

A relentless foe to graft in public office, he was con- 
stantly at "outs" with the party bosses. As governor of 
New York, with his reform ideas and his refusal to obey 
orders, Roosevelt incurred the hatred of the Republican 
"machine." These leaders had him nominated for the vice- 
presidency, with the intention of putting an end to his politi- 
cal career. Well they knew that few vice-presidents had 
ever reached the presidential chair except by accident ; and 
none could foresee that an anarchist's deed would thwart 
their purpose. A tremendous worker himself, Roosevelt 
was ever the advocate of a "strenuous life." In jiis v/ars 
against corruption and in his foreign policy he adopted what 
came to be known as the Roosevelt motto, "Speak softly 
and carry a big stick." 

The Isthmian Canal. — From the time when Balboa 
fought his way through the jungles of the Isthmus of Darien 
to be the first European to gaze on the Pacific Ocean, the 
project of a canal connecting it with the Caribbean Sea had 
been discussed. In the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty (1850) Great 
Britain and the United States agreed to permit one to be 
constructed under their joint control. No definite steps 
in this direction were taken, however, and it was left for 
the French to make the first attempt. De Lesseps, one of 
their engineers, had won renown by the successful com- 
pletion of the Suez Canal, connecting the Red Sea with the 
Mediterranean (1869). Encouraged by this the French or- 
ganized another company to build a similar canal across 
Panama, and work actually began in 1881. According to 
De Lesseps' plans the ditch was to be dug to sea level for 



A NEW AMKRICAN SPIRIT 543 

the entire fifty miles — an apparently feasible project, since 
the deepest cut would be only about three hundred feet. 
After working a number of years and spending several 
hundred million francs the company abandoned the under- 
taking. The labor problem had greatly exceeded its expecta- 
tions, due to the enormous loss of life occasioned by yellow 
fever and other tropical diseases. -. pi),,,, ^i., -'■^^'''^I' 

The Isthmian Canal Act.— The War with Spain brought 
the United States to a realization of the ne^d for a shorter 
water route from its Pacific coast to the Atlantic than by 
way of Cape Horn. The country still remembered the 
long time it had taken the Oregon to steam from San 
Francisco to Cuban waters, and what an embarrassment 
this had been. Shortly after Roosevelt became president 
a treaty was negotiated with Great Britain by which she 
relinquished her rights in the proposed Panama Canal, 
on condition that when constructed it would be open to 
"vessels of commerce and war of all nations," without 
any discriminations as to tolls. The following June (1902) 
Congress passed the "Isthmian Canal Act," authorizing the 
president to purchase from Colombia a strip of land not less 
than six and one-half miles wide and extending across the 
Isthmus. Should this be impossible, the optional route 
through Nicaragua was to be selected. 

Roosevelt recognizes the Republic of Panama. — After 
the two governments had agreed upon terms the Colom- 
bian Congress refused to ratify them. President Roose- 
velt was so much vexed that he despatched men-of-war 
to the Isthmus in anticipation, no doubt, of some sort o,f 
revolutionary disturbance. Ir this he was not disappointed, 
for the Panamaians, alarmed by the prospect of losing the 
canal and all the advantages which it would bring, on Nor 
veniber 3, 1903, revolted and proclaimed themselves an inde- 
pendent republic. Ten days later Roosevelt recognized their 
government and on November sixteenth a treaty was 



544 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



concluded with it by which Panama ceded to the United 
States a strip known as the "Canal Zone," five miles wide 
on either side of the proposed waterway, in consideration 
of an immediate payment of $10,000,000 and an additional 
one of $250,000, payable annually, beginning nine years 




The First Vessel to Pass through the Gatun Locks 
in the Panama Canal 

after the completion of the canal. For $40,000,000 more 
all the rights of the old French company were obtained. 

Sanitation of Canal Zone and cost of the canal. — After 
long deliberation Congress decided upon a canal with locks, 
rather than one at sea level, as De Lesseps had planned. 
To destroy the breeding places of mosquitoes and thus to 
prevent malaria and yellow fever from interfering with 
the work. Major General Gorgas was sent to the Isthmus. 
Under his direction the rank vegetation was cleared from 
great areas, swamps were drained, sewers and a modern 
water system were installed, and by the time digging began 
the Canal Zone had been transformed from one of the "hot- 
test, wettest and most feverish regions in existence" into a 
place far healthier than most large cities. In the construc- 
tion work over forty thousand laborers were employed at 



A NEW AMERICAN SPIRIT 



545 




one time, most of them being West Indian negroes. The 
canal was completed at a cost of $375,000,000 and on Au- 
gust 3, 1914, the 
first vessel pass- 
ed through it. 
The toll rate 
is $1.25 for each 
net ton of cargo 
space. Although 
this amounts to 
a large fee, ves- 
sels are glad to 
make use of the 
canal, owing to 
the distance it 
saves. The voy- 
age from New 
York to San 
Francisco is ac- 
tually shortened by eight thousand miles, while that to Aus- 
tralia is reduced half that many. 

Roosevelt believed in peace. — Though an advocate of 
a large, well-equipped army and a thoroughly modern navy, 
Roosevelt was a supporter of peace. According to his belief, 
when a nation was known to be prepared at all times to de- 
fend its rights, it was most secure against aggression. In 
1904 Japan went to war with Russia, because the czar in- 
sisted on occupying the Chinese province of Manchuria upon 
the pretext that Russian soldiers were needed to guard the 
Manchurian railway, recently built by Russian capital. From 
the beginning this war was disastrous to the czar's armies, 
and after the fighting had gone on more than a year Presi- 
dent Roosevelt concluded that its continuance would be a 
"very bad thing for Japan and even a worse thing for Rus- 
sia." In view of its menace to the general peace through 



Panama Canal — the World's 
New Gateway 



546 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

involving other European powers he directed a note to the 
belHgerents on July 2, 1905, urging them in their own inter- 
est and that of the civilized world to try to agree on peace. 
As both nations were in financial straits by this time they 
gladly accepted the suggestion and sent envoys to Ports- 
mouth, New Hampshire, to confer. Long deliberation ensued, 
and when their minimum demands seemed irreconcilable 
and the conference about to end in failure, Roosevelt, by a 
remarkable display of tact and good judgment, secured a 





The American Fleet in the Harbor of Colombo, Ceylon, on 
Its Cruise around the World 

delay. Appealing directly to the two monarchs, he secured 
concessions sufficient to make a treaty of peace possible. 

Our battle-ships circumnavigate the globe. — To show 
how well prepared the United States was to defend her 
rights President Roosevelt ordered a fleet of sixteen bat- 
tle-ships to make a voyage around the world. As a result 
of this cruise, which began in 1907 and covered thirty 
thousand miles — by far the longest ever undertaken by 
any similar fleet — the influence of America was increased 
tremendously. 

The growth of trusts. — We have seen how railway 
"combines" and "pools" were formed soon after the War of 
Secession. The same thing happened in other lines of indus- 
try, and as a result a few gigantic corporations eventually 



A NEW AMERICAN SPIRIT 547 

controlled many es- In hundreds of millions 



sential articles of 
commerce and kept '8si-7o 

, • , , 1871-80 |i 

prices nign enough 



to insure large divi- 



"11 I II 1 1 h inl 1 1 111 Ml ill M il n i i l rrirl i M i liii 



60 55 
lllllll 



188 1- qo 
leqi-noo 
dends and the accu- iqoi-oa. 

mulation of enor- _ „ , . ^ , t.t • , t , 

J Consolidation of the Nation s Indus- 

mous surpkises. in tries and Gas. Electric Light and Street 
the beginning no at- Railway Companies 

. , , ^ The approximate capital is shown in 

tempt was made to hundreds of millions of dollars 

combine, but con- 
cerns in the same business entered into agreements to cut 
down production, raise prices and divide territory so as to 
eliminate competition. During the eighties, when the courts 
began to adjudge such methods unlawful and refuse to en- 
force the agreements, "trusts" came into existence. At first 
the stock of all the companies composing the trust was 
placed in the hands of trustees, who then proceeded to con- 
trol the business of all the member concerns. Later came 
the formation of the powerful "holding companies" of the 
present day. These great corporations bought a controlling 
interest in many independent concerns, and operated them 
solely in the interest of the stockholders of the trust. In 
some cases they even dissolved the small companies alto- 
gether. 

Trusts are the logical outcome of the factory system. 
Shoes can be made cheaper in factories where each workman 
turns out only one part than by a single shoemaker in his 
own shop. Likewise steel can, be manufactured cheaper 
when many mills are combined tinder one management. 

The war against trusts. — By 1890 so many small con- 
cerns had been forced out of business by the unfair meth- 
ods of trusts, and the price paid producers for such raw ma- 
terials as tobacco, hemp, sugar and wool had been forced 
so low that a loud demand for laws to curb their activities 



548 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



arose. When this could be ignored no longer, Congress en- 
acted the Sherman Anti-Trust Law. By this act, combina- 
tions designed to restrain trade between the states or with 
foreign countries were declared unlawful and subject to dis- 
solution by the courts. Little effort was made to enforce this 
law until President Roosevelt started on his "trust-busting" 
campaign. During his administration and that of his suc- 
cessor, President Taft, over one hundred and fifty suits 
were brought against trusts controlling the manufacture or 
sale of sugar, beef, lumber, steel, tobacco, harvesting ma- 
chinery, window glass and other commodities. Like most 
cases which have to pass through the Supreme Court, prog- 
ress was slow. A suit brought against the Standard Oil 
Company in 1906 was not settled until 1911, and the public 
suffered meanwhile. Autocratic "captains of industry" at 

first paid little heed 
to these attempts of 
the government to 
regulate their activi- 
ties, for heretofore 
the utmost penalty 
imposed had been a 
fine not so large as 
a single day's profits. 
In derision over the 
apparent inability of 
the law to stop their 
evil practises, one of 
them went so far as 
to ask a government 
attorney. "Can you 

Whst! Make a Political Issue of Me Now? unscramble eggS ?" 

. ^ ^ T> ,,■,,, ■ ,1 His question was an- 

A Cartoon Publisned during the * 

FJcction of 1904 swered ni 1904 when 




A NEW AMERICAN SPIRIT 549 

the Supreme Court ordered the Northern Securities Com- 
pany to be dissolved, and competition to be restored between 
its two railway lines — the Northern Pacific and Great North- 
ern. Henceforth the lawless magnates had a wholesome 
respect for Roosevelt and his "big stick." 

In 1906 Congress enacted laws regulating the slaughter of 
live stock and the preparation of food products for inter- 
state commerce. Three years later a tax was levied on cor- 
porations, partly to bring their affairs under government 
supervision. In 1914 a Federal Trade Commission was 
created to exercise a control over corporations engaged in 
interstate business similar to that of the Interstate Com- 
merce Commission over railroads. 

Arbitration of labor disputes. — Since President Cleve- 
land had employed federal troops to quell a strike, there 
had been little improvement in methods of settling labor 
disputes. Labor and capital fought out their disagree- 
ments usually until one side or the other became exhausted 
or saw the hopelessness of the struggle and yielded. In 
1902 one hundred and fifty thousand coal miners in Penn- 
sylvania struck in an attempt to force their employers to 
grant them shorter hours, higher pay and "collective bar- 
gaining," that is, the right of union offtcials to represent the 
workmen in all negotiations with the employers. At the end 
of five months both sides were still obdurate. Hard coal 
had risen in price from five to thirty or more dollars a ton 
and the whole East was facing a coal famine. 

The struggle had ceased to be one of interest only to mine 
owners and miners, for winter was approaching and mil- 
lions of lives were being placed in jeopardy. To pre- 
vent this President Roosevelt intervened and made ready 
to seize the mines by military force and resume operations. 
He asserted that, "No man and no group of men can so 
exercise their rights as to deprive the nation of the things 
which are necessary and vital to the common life." An able 



550 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

commission was appointed to investigate both sides of the 
controversy, and finally its decision was accepted. 

From this act dates the feeling that the public is an inter- 
ested party in labor disputes and has rights which must be 
recognized by both sides. Since then many strikes have 
been settled by the intervention of governors and mayors, 
and New York, Massachusetts and several other states have 
boards of arbitrators to take a hand in settling labor dis- 
putes by making investigations, declaring the right and 
wrong of the issues, and serving as conciliators. The De- 
partment of Labor also acts in a similar capacity in dis- 
putes afifecting interstate commerce. 

Conservation the need of the hour. — In 1873 the Amer- 
ican Association for the Advancement of Science started a 
movement for the preservation of the forests, which were 
rapidly disappearing because of fire and wasteful methods 
of lumbering. According to estimates, since the first settle- 
ment was made at Jamestown, forest fires had destroyed 
more timber than had been cut by man. As a result the Bu- 
reau of Forestry was established under the Department of 
Agriculture, and during President Harrison's administration 
Congress enacted laws authorizing the president to set aside 
or purchase forest areas as national reserves. The United 
States has now over one hundred and sixty national forests, 
mostly among the mountains of the Far West, containing 
about one hundred and sixty million acres. 

Gifford Pinchot and our conservation policy. — It is, 
however, to Gifl'ord Pinchot, chief of the Bureau of 
Forestry under President Roosevelt, that the nation owes 
its greatest debt of gratitude for the adoption of a con- 
servation policy. Through his efforts systematic steps were 
taken to protect the natural wealth of the country from 
spoliation. A naturalist of eminence himself, President 
Roosevelt whole-heartedly ac(|uiesced in Pinchot's plans. In 
May, 1908. he convened at the White House a "Conference 



A NEW AMERICAN SPIRIT 



551 



of the Governors" to discuss conservation. Thirty-four 
states were represented in this conference for the conserva- 
tion of the nation's natural resources — minerals, waters, 
forests and soils. 

During Roosevelt's administration not only were vast 
areas added to the forest reserves, but the government began 
to supervise the grazing of cattle and sheep on the public 




A Field Destroyed by Erosion — Another Result of Deforestation 

domain, and to charge fees for the privilege. Heretofore 
electric light and power companies had bought or been given 
perpetual rights to dam up streams, and develop water 
power, but now new laws were enacted providing for leas- 
ing these privileges for terms .not exceeding fifty years. To 
check the enormous losses from forest fires, roads and 
trails were opened through the reserves and a force of forest 
rangers was organized to patrol them. Millions of acres of 
mineral lands were withdrawn from sale or entry under the 
homestead law, and in 1910, after Taft became president, 
Congress enacted a law providing that where minerals, oils 



552 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

or gas were found on public lands thereafter sold, the de- 
posits should belong to the government. 

Upon the invitation of President Roosevelt commissioners 
from Mexico and Canada met with those of the United 
States in Washington (1909) to consider the conservation 
of the resources of the whole of North America. The im- 
mediate result of this was the creation by the Dominion 
Parliament of a Commission of Conservation for Canada. 

Two new amendments to the Constitution. — Notwith- 
standing its tremendous growth and the radical changes 
which had occurred in nearly every phase of its life, the 
United States had made no amendments to its Constitution 
since those relating to slavery had been adopted at the close 
of the War of Secession. To make up the loss of revenue 
occasioned by the tariff reduction the Wilson bill had pro- 
vided for a tax of two per cent, on incomes above four 
thousand dollars, but the Supreme Court declared it un- 
constitutional. In an efTort to distribute the burden of 
taxation more equitably, in 1909 Congress proposed an 
amendment to the Constitution authorizing the levying of 
such taxes. Advocated first by the Populists and later made 
one of their platform demands by the Democrats, the propo- 
sition of an income tax was now regarded with almost equal 
favor by the Republicans. A few weeks after President 
Taft's term expired this amendment had been ratified by 
the necessary three- fourths of the states and was proclaimed 
a part of the Constitution. Later in the same year an in- 
come tax law was enacted and taxes levied (1913). 

Since the formation of the government there had been a 
governing class composed of persons who had time and an 
inclination for politics. In the early days the taverns and 
village stores were the gathering places for these politicians, 
and there was started the practise of distributing the offices 
among themselves. With the advent of the nominating con- 
vention the politicians were careful to be chosen as delegates 



A NEW AMERICAN SPIRIT 553 

and thus continued to keep the power in their own hands. 
In the districts and counties they organized committees to 
"hne up" the voters and see that they voted the tickets 
"straight." 

The agitation of election reforms, which followed the 
adoption of the Australian ballot, created a demand for 
some plan by which voters could choose their candidates 
directly. In 1903 Wisconsin met it by adopting the "direct 
primary" system. According to this plan, each party holds 
an election about three months before the general election, 
and affords its members an opportunity to indicate their 
choice as to who shall be the candidates. The direct primary 
spread rapidly and proved so popular that a demand soon 
arose for the election of United States senators, too, by a 
direct vote. As early as John Quincy Adams's administra- 
tion this had been debated in Congress, but always stub- 
bornly opposed by the senators themselves. By 1910 so 
many states had applied the direct primary to the election 
of their senators that a majority of the Senate had been 
chosen in that way. The next year, therefore. Congress pro- 
posed an amendment to the Constitution requiring that sena- 
tors be chosen by popular vote, and on May 31, 1913, it was 
proclaimed as the Seventeenth Amendment. 

The rise of dollar diplomacy. — Prior to the United 
States becoming a world power, the great nations of Europe 
had proceeded on the theory that political control was essen- 
tial to foreign trade. Barbarous and half-civilized countries 
had been seized as colonies, and spheres of inflluence and 
concessions, or exclusive rights to build railways and oper- 
ate mines and factories, had been obtained from weaker 
nations by persuasion and even threats of violence. We have 
seen the leading powers of Europe in their greed making 
ready to partition the Chinese Empire among themselves, 
and how this was averted by the insistence of the United 
States on the "open door" policy. 



554 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

During Taft's administration a policy, termed by its ene- 
mies ''dollar diplomacy" because it sought to establish closer 
commercial relations with these weaker nations, was 
adopted. When the new Chinese Republic needed financial 
aid the Washington authorities did not wait until the big 
New York bankers came to ask their assistance in the ne- 
gotiations. Instead, the government appealed to them to 
join the syndicate of European bankers which was arrang- 
ing to advance the funds, because of the effect it would 
have on American influence in the Far East. Dollar di- 
plomacy also brought assistance to American bankers who 
were willing to lend financial help to the Central American 
republics, provided their loans could be properly safe- 
guarded. The United States arranged with several Latin 
American governments that her officials might take charge 
of their custom houses and collect the duties, so as to in- 
sure the payment of these foreign loans. This, however, led 
many to distrust the motives of their "giant neighbor" and 
they began to resent bitterly the domineering attitude its 
size and wealth had enabled it to assume in American 
affairs. To these the disposition of the "gringos" to act 
as international policeman in the unruly and impoverished 
republics south of the Rio Grande, has proved very dis- 
tasteful. 

The split in the Republican party. — The Republican 
party was by no means a unit on the tariff question. The 
manufacturing interests in the Eastern and Central States 
strongly favored the high rates, but the farmers of the West 
were equally insistent on a reduction. By this time the peo- 
ple generally had learned that a high tariff causes high prices 
and that any increase in wages or the selling price of agri- 
cultural products is more than offset by the increased cost 
of everything they have to buy. So bitter became some of 
the Republicans in Congress toward the conservative ma- 
jority, derisively termed "standpatters," that after Taft ap- 



A NEW AMERICAN SPIRIT 555 

proved the Payne-Aldrich Bill, another protective tariff 
measure, they broke with their party. Afterward they 
voted against so many party measures that they earned the 
popular title of "Insurgents." By 1910 the quarrel had di- 
vided the party sufficiently to allow the Democrats to gain 
control of the House of Representatives for the first time 
since 1892. 

With the aid of the Insurgents the Democrats now passed 
a new tariff law, which would have reduced considerably the 
rates on iron and steel products, woolen goods, sugar and 
farm implements, had not the president vetoed it. The next 
two years were stormy ones for Taft, who was now accused 
by the Insurgents of being a "standpatter," and so exposed 
to attack from within as well as without his own party. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. How did the political leaders try to end Roosevelt's political 

career? Why did they do that, and how did they fail? 

2. President Roosevelt was the most versatile man that ever pre- 

sided over the destinies of the nation. What other president 
stands next to him as a versatile man? Enumerate the most 
important public services that Mr. Roosevelt had performed 
before he became president. 

3. Show how Roosevelt drew the line of demarcation between 

human rights and property rights. 

4. The United States and Great Britain agreed by the terms of the 

Clayton-Bulwer Treaty (1850) to build a canal across Nica- 
rauga. Why was this never done? 

5. Explain Roosevelt's methods of getting control of the strip of 

territory through which the Panama Canal was constructed. 
Do you think that the United States should charge its own 
citizens the same toll for the use of the canal that it does 
British sul)jects? Explain your answer. 

6. President Roosevelt believed that the best way to keep out of 

war was to be well prepared. Is that always a safe pre- 
ventive ? 

7. What are trusts? \\'hat are holding companies? Should all 

trusts be "unscrambled"? How is the government trying to 
dissolve the trusts? 



556 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

8. On what ground did Roosevelt interfere in the coal strike of 

1902? How did he settle it? 

9. Give reasons why the people of the United States have heen so 

wasteful of their natural resources. What did President 
Roosevelt do to call a halt in this? 

10. What is an income tax law? Does it impose the burden on the 

ones best able to bear it? 

11. Explain dollar diplomacy. 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHLR STUDY 

1. Roosevelt and his versatility. 

2. The acquisition of the Canal Zone. 

The Fight against Corruption Results in the Development 
of a New American Spirit 

I. The Settlement of the Far West. 

A. The Far West in 1860 and the conditions that existed 
there. 

B. Aids to the movement of population westward. 

1. The homestead law. 

2. Immigration to the United States. 

3. Building of railroads. 

4. Expositions. 

5. Influence of mines. 
11. New Legislation. 

A. Assassination of Garfield and civil service reform. 

B. A law excluding Chinese immigrants from the United 
States. 

C. The Presidential Succession Act. 

D. Consolidation of railroads and tlie Interstate Commerce 
Act of 1887. 

E. Introduction of the Australian l)allot sys'.eni. 

F. Tariff legislation. 

I!^!. Crover Cleveland Again Preside.xt, 1393-1897. 
A. The Panic of 1893. 

1. The causes. 

2. The effort of the president to relieve tlie money 
stringency. 

B. The Wilson Tariff Bill. 

C. The growth and organization of labor unions. 

1. Consolidation of railroads, and factories. 



A NEW AMP:RICAN spirit 557 

2. The War of Secession gave, the labor unions an op- 
portunity. 

3. Means employed by labor unions to enforce their 
demands. 

4. The nature and demands of labor unions. 
D. The Monroe Doctrine on trial. 

1. The Venezuelan boundary dispute. 

2. Great Britain agrees to arbitration. 
IV. The Spanish-American War, 1898. 

A. Election of McKinley. 

B. Causes of the War with Spain. 

1. The interest of the United States in Cuba. 

2. Spanish cruelty toward Cuba. 

3. The demands of the United States upon the G;ianisli 
Government. 

4. The sinking of the battle-ship Maine. 

C. The waging of the war. 

1. The naval battles. 

2. The Cuban campaign. 

3. The invasion of Porto Rico. 

D. The results of the war. 

1. The United States comes into possession of territory 
outside of North America; the traditional policy of 
isolation broken. 

2. Control of Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippines by 
the United States. 

E. Secretary John Hay insisted on an Opcn-Door Policy in 
China in 1899. 

F. Interest of the United States in the Boxer Rebellion. 
V. Roosevelt Elevated to the Presidency. 

A. Roosevelt wields the big stick. 

1. The Canal Zone is obtained and tlie Panama Canal 
is built. 

2. War made on trusts. 

3. Roosevelt intervened in the coal strike of 1902 and 
brought about a settlement of the trouble. 

B. Conservation plan of Pinchot. 

C. Inauguration of the policy of dollar diplomacy. 





In two millions 










\nm 


■IHH 










\H<¥) 


^■i^™ 










1900 


^■"■■"^ 










iqio 




mc 





CHAPTER XLI 

A HALF-CENTURY OF PROGRESS 

Population. — In 1860 the population of what is now the 
United States was about 31,000,000. During the next fifty 
years the number had almost tripled, reaching 91,972,266. 
In addition, the nation's new possessions — Hawaii, the Phil- 
ippines and Porto Rico — contributed 10,000,000. Over one- 
fourth of the population was living west of the Mississippi 

River — nearly as many 
as dwelt in the far older 
states south of the Ohio 
and Potomac. While in 
1860 less than twenty 
per cent, of the inhabi- 

■ Urban (towns of Z500 or over) DRurol tauts rCsidcd iu tOWUS of 

The Shifting of Population from more than eight thou- 
Country to City between , , , i m rv ^.u 

1880 and 1920 ^^nd people, by 1910 the 

percentage had doubled 
itself. In some of the Eastern States, particularly Massa- 
chusetts and New York, only ten or twenty per cent, were 
residents of rural districts. 

Increased growth of cities due to foreign immigration. 
— This increase of city dwellers was largely due to the vast 
armies of immigrants which had been pouring into the coun- 
try. During the two decades ending with 1913. nearly 
14,000,000 had arrived. Unlike their predecessors, few of 
these newcomers were from the British Isles and the north of 
Europe ; instead, they came from Russia, Poland, Hungary. 
Italy, Mexico, Syria and other countries where living stand- 
ards were much lower than in the United States. Largely il- 

558 



A HALF-CENTURY OF PROGRESS 



559 



literate and without any qualifications except muscular 
strength, the men furnished the unskilled labor demanded in 
the mines/ mills 
and commerce, 
while the women 
and children 
found work in 
the shops where 
ready-made 
clothing was 
manufactured, 
and in cheap 
restaurants and 
similar places. 
Poorly paid and 
unfamiliar with 
better condi- 
tions, they hud- 
dled together in 
the "slums" or 
tenement dis- 
tricts close to 
their work, a 
menace to the 
public health 
and morals. 

By 1910 New 
York City had 
a population of 
4,766,883, nearly twice that of the thirteen colonies on the 
eve of the Revolutionary War ; Chicago of 2,485,283, and 
Philadelphia of 1.549,000. Each of forty-eight cities boasted 
over one hundred thousand inhabitants, and three-fourths 
of them were situated along the coast or on the navigable 
streams of the Mississippi Basin. 




In the Congested Section of New York 

Each of the buildings houses 
hurnlreds of jiersons 



560 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




Center of popu- 
lation moves west- 
ward.— In 1790 the 
center of population 
was just east of 
Chesapeake Bay, 
but so rapid was the 
western migration 
that only seventy 
years were required 
for it to move in- 
land to the vicinity 
of the Scioto River 
in Ohio, and fifty 
more to reach 
Bloomington, Indi- 
ana. Just ahead of 
it moved the center 
of improved farms 
and close in its wake 
crowded the center 
of manufactures. 
Truly may it be 
said, "Westward the 
course of empire 
takes its way." 

Additional re- 
striction on foreign 
immigration. — So 
mixed became the 
genealogy of the 
people that, after 
fifty years of immi- 
gration, less than 
one-third the popu- 



A HALF-CENTURY OF PROGRESS 561 

lation of the country could trace its ancestry back to colonial 
families. To check the introduction of undesirables, Con- 
gress imposed more and more restrictions. In 1882 a law 
was passed excluding convicts ; invalids, particularly those 
afflicted with eye diseases ; anarchists and members of other 
societies opposed to law and order. In 1917 Congress finally 
passed over the veto of the president an Illiteracy Act, for- 
bidding entrance to all grown persons unable to read in 
some language. 

Improvement in transportation. — In 1860 there were 
thirty thousand miles of railway in the country; in 1910 
eight times as many (240,000), largely parts of a few great 
systems. Heavy rails and rock ballast had made possible 
larger locomotives, and these larger and heavier trains. 
Since the first wide river was bridged at Albany in 1866, 
even the Mississippi had been spanned in a dozen places 
and passengers could cross the continent without changing 
cars. The crude sleeping cars of the early fifties had given 
place to palaces on wheels, in which the traveler could en- 
joy his bath, dine on the best the Atlantic and Pacific af- 
forded, keep in touch with the stock market, and dictate to a 
stenographer, while speeding along at sixty miles an hour. 

A few large express companies had supplanted the many 
smaller ones and in 1918 these were finally merged into a 
single corporation. The Parcel Post Law enacted during 
President Taft's administration had made it possible to send 
large packages by mail at a low rate. Two great telegraph 
companies had enmeshed the country with their lines and 
made instant communication available wherever a railroad 
extended, and to hundreds of interior places through con- 
nection with the various telephone systems. 

The omnibus of fifty years before became inadequate to 
the needs of the growing cities, and was replaced by the 
larger and faster horse car. Later, when it had been demon- 
strated at Richmond, Virginia, in 1888 that cars could be 



562 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 




A Street Railway Car in New 
Orleans about 1840 



operated successfully by electricity, horses and mules were 
soon supplanted. Bvit before this the crowded thorough- 
fares of such cities as New York, Philadelphia, Chicago 

and Boston had de- 
manded more rapid 
means of transit, 
and in 1870 the con- 
struction of over- 
head or elevated 
railways was begun. 
These were steel 
bridges built over 
the streets and ex- 
tending for miles, 
with stations 
reached by stairs, at 
convenient distances. On them long trains of light cars were 
operated, which went whizzing past the housetops without 
any interference from street traffic. By 1900 even these 
became inadequate, and the cities turned to subway systems 
for relief. Great tunnels were excavated beneath the streets, 
under high buildings, and even below wide rivers, and 
through them trains thundered along at forty miles an hour. 

The bicycle and the automobile. 
— About 1880 there was placed on 
the market a bicycle, clumsy but 
adapted to hard usage and sold at 
a price low enough to be within 
reach of the masses. With it one 
could travel several times faster than 
with a horse and buggy, and when 
the original high wheel had been su- 
perseded by the low compact one of 
to-day the bicycle took an important place in city and sub- 
m-ban life. Ten years later there appeared a new vehicle — 




The First High-Wheel 
Bicycle 



A HALF-CENTURY OF PROGRESS 



563 




Couricby ui Tlic Hayncb Autuuiubilc Cunipaiiy 

The First Automobile 
Made in America 



— the automobile — des- 
tined to revolutionize the 
life of the country in 
twenty-five years, al- 
though at first it was 
deemed a rich man's 
plaything. The first au- 
tomobile races in Amer- 
ica were held at Chicago 
in 1895, and the winning 
car covered ninety miles 
in eight hours and forty- 
eight minutes with the 
aid of cakes of ice to 
keep the engine from 
overheating. By 1900 about four thousand cars were being 
manufactured annually; fifteen years later the output had 
increased to nine himdred thousand. 

The good roads movement. — The immediate result of 
popularizing the automobile was a clamor for "better 
roads." To satisfy this many hundred millions of dollars 
have been expended on the improvement of highways ; 
and where a few years ago farmers were unable to get to 
town with their cotton, grain and other products for weeks 
at a time because of impassable roads, now, in the worst 
weather they can haul heavier loads than before in the best. 

The Atlantic cable. — Soon after Professor Morse had 
perfected the telegraph for sending messages by land he 
began experimenting with devices for transmitting them un- 
der water. By 1854 the submarine telegraph was an accom- 
plished fact, and several cables less than a hundred miles in 
length were in operation. That year Cyrus W. Field, a suc- 
cessful New York financier, organized a company for the 
purpose of laying the first cable across the Atlantic. The 
route chosen extended from Newfoundland to Ireland, and 




564 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

was two thousand miles in length. Work began in 1855, 
but the attempt was unsuccessful, due to the breaking of the 
cable in mid-ocean from the tremendous strain of its own 
weight as it was being paid out from the ship. A second 

effort also failed, but still Field 
did not give up. With the aid of 
British and American war-ships, 
he at last succeeded in laying his 

A Section of the Atlantic ^able, and over it President Bu- 
Cable Laid m I800 ,,. . 

chanan and Queen victoria ex- 
changed greetings. After a few weeks, however, it refused 
to work, and as the company meanwhile had become bank- 
rupt, the project was temporarily abandoned. In 1865 Field 
succeeded in forming a new company and chartering the 
Great Eastern, the largest steamship afloat, set to work once 
more. On July 27, 1866, the work was completed, and since 
then cable service between the two continents has never 
been seriously disturbed. In place of having to wait nearly 
three weeks for a reply to a letter, the cable made it possible 
to send a message from any telegraph ofiice and receive a 
reply in a few hours. 

Inventions. — Much of the progress of the country is 
attributable to the Bessemer process of making steel, in- 
vented in 1864. By this method the best quality of steel can 
be produced for little more than it had cost before to roll 
iron. As a result the railroads have been able to employ the 
more durable steel rails absolutely essential for the heavy 
locomotives demanded by the steep mountain grades. The 
building of stronger bridges, larger vessels and loftier build- 
ings has also been made possible. Cheap steel has meant 
low-priced machinery, and this has enabled manufacturers 
to increase the output of their plants and thus to market 
their products at greatly reduced prices. 

At the Centennial Exposition held in Philadelphia in 1876 
thousands of the inventions that were already revolutioniz- 
in<r American life were on exhibition. Two of the most 



A HALF-CENTURV OF PROGRESS 



565 



novel were the electric lamp perfected by Thomas A. Edi- 
son, and the first successful telephone, finally completed by 
Alexander Graham Bell, of Alassachusetts. Within a few 
years cities and towns began to discard their oil lamps and 
gas jets for the new electric lights, and telephone poles and 
wires began to make their appearance along city streets and 
country roads. By 1915 the mayor of New York was 
able to talk over a copper wire with the mayor of San 
Francisco. 

To the invention of the typesetting machine may be 
traced the rise of the great modern magazines and news- 
papers. By means of wireless telegraphy, invented in 1902 
by the Italian genius, Signor 
Marconi, we can communi- 
cate with vessels at sea and 
rush aid to them in time of 
emergency. Refrigerating 
machinery enables every 
community to enjoy what 
was formerly a luxur}- of 
the rich — ice — and makes 
cold storage plants possible, 
in which the excess of food 
production is preserved for 
seasons of scarcity. Without 
cold storage many sections 

of the country would be deprived of their fresh fish, meats 
and vegetables, their sweet milk, fruits from Florida, Cali- 
fornia and the tropics, and their ice-cold beverages. The 
invention of the typewriter in 1874 revolutionized methods 
of doing business and paved the way for such improvements 
as the cash register, adding machine and automatic scales. 

About 1850 the primitive daguerreotype was superseded 
by the cumbersome glass plate, and this in time by the in- 
stantaneous camera fmplo)ing a film. So inexpensive has 
])hotograph)- become that taking "snapshots" is now one of 




The First Remington 
Typewriter, 1874 



566 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

the pastimes of both young and old, and a single factory 
sells over a hundred thousand "kodaks" a year. As a result 
of the improvement in photography we have moving pic- 
tures which entertain millions of persons each week. In 
the "movie" industry, within two decades over $400,000,000 
has been invested, and fully a half million persons find em- 
ployment. 

Liquor prohibition. — We have already seen that shortly 
after the War of Secession those opposed to the manufac- 
ture and sale of intoxicating liquors organized the National 
Prohibition Reform party (1869). Since then the Prohibi- 
tionists, as its members were called, had candidates in the 
field at each general election. Although the party never 
polled many votes, it served to keep the issue of national pro- 
hibition alive. ]\Ieanwhile by constitutional amendments and 
legislative acts the states one by one rid themselves of the 
liquor traffic, until in 1918 it had been wholly excluded from 
two-thirds of them. Even in the others large areas had been 
made "dry" by local option, that is, by permitting the voters 
of a county or town to decide whether the sale of liquor 
should be permitted within its limits. In December, 1917, 
Congress submitted to the states the following amendment 
to the Constitution : 

After one year from the ratification of this article the 
manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquor 
within, the importation thereof into, or exportation thereof 
from, the United States, and all territory subject to the 
jurisdiction thereof, for beverage purposes, is hereby pro- 
hibited. 

On January 16, 1919, having been ratified by thirty-six 
states (the required three-fourths), it was proclaimed the 
Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution. 

Woman suffrage. — The advocates of woman sufifrage 
had hoped to secure for women the right to vote when it 
was granted to negroes at the close of the Civil War. Dis- 
appointed in this, they began in the late sixties an organized 



A HALF-CENTURY OF PROGRESS 



567 



fight in the separate states. Naturally, it was in the Far 
West where civilization was young and men were unfet- 
tered by tradition, that the equal suffrage idea won its first 
victories. In Kansas in 1861 women secured the right to 
vote in school elections and here six years later they made 
their first state-wide campaign. Their speakers visited 
every settled portion of the state, traveling by stage and 
buggy, over roads often almost impassable, and held en- 
thusiastic meetings in schoolhouses, churches, barns and on 
the open prairie. Although they did not win, the women 
polled sufficient votes to encourage them to keep up their 
fight. 

In 1890, as we have stated before, Wyoming came into the 
union with a constitution granting equal suffrage to women. 
Three years later Colorado enfranchised her women. When 
Utah was finally admitted in 1896, she restored to women 
the right to vote, which they had enjoyed in territorial days 
until Congress took it away nine years before. Idaho was 
the fourth state to grant equal suffrage. After that the 
movement made little progress until 1910, when Washing- 
ton came into line. This was followed by such a revival of 
interest that by 1918 women exercised political rights on 
an equality with men in fourteen 
states and the Territory of Alaska, 
and in others were permitted to vote 
in certain elections. While the fight 
was kept up locally in the several 
states, from 1868 the city of Wash- 
ington was the scene of a constant 
struggle for a constitutional amend- 
ment. After forty-five years of vain 
pleading and petitioning, the Na- 
tional Woman's Suffrage Associa- 
tion assumed a militant attitude and 
began to threaten to oppose the re- 




Susan B. Anthony, the 

Early Leader of the 

Woman Suffrage 

Movement 



568 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

election of congressmen who refused to support their pro- 
posed Susan B. Anthony amendment : 

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied by the United States, or by any state on ac- 
count of sex." 

So determined were they, that Avoman suffrage became an 
issue in the presidential campaign of 1916. Both Democrats 
and Republicans favored it, but thought it should be accom- 
plished through the individual states rather than by a con- 
stitutional amendment. The next year, after their victory in 
New York, the women forced their amendment through the 
House of Representatives (January 10, 1918). Although 
it failed by two votes in the Senate, during the next session 
it was finally passed and referred to the states. Its ratifica- 
tion by Tennessee, the thirty-sixth state, during the summer 
of 1920, enabled it to be proclaimed as the Nineteenth 
Amendment to the Constitution in time to permit the women 
to vote in the impending presidential election. 

Political innovations within the states. — The Austra- 
lian ballot and direct primary soon created a demand in the 
Far West for some easy means of controlling those elected 
to office. Everywhere there was discontent with the laws 
enacted as w^ell as with the failure of legislatures to pass 
acts demanded by the people, due too often to the influence 
of interests which would be affected adversely. In 1898 
North Dakota, profiting by the experience of Switzerland, 
and a year later Oregon, enacted laws providing for a "ref- 
erendum." This means that a small part of the voters can 
compel the holding of an election to determine whether an 
unpopular act of the legislature shall be allowed to become 
a law. The "Oregon Plan" also provided that the voters 
might initiate a bill. When this is done, the measure is sub- 
mitted to the people at an election held for that purpose, and 
if favored by a majority becomes a law. At about the same 
time the voters of T.os .Angeles initiated an ordinance con- 



A HALF-CENTURV UF l'UO(iRI-:SS 569 

ferring on themselves the power to "recall" an unsatisfac- 
tory official. Under the "recall" if a certain per cent, of the 
voters sign a petition demanding the removal of an official 
he must either resign or allow the matter to go before the 
citizens at a special election held for the purpose. 

So rapidly did these ideas spread that the initiative and 
referendum has been conferred on the citizens in twenty- 
one states and over three hundred cities, while nearly as 
many states and a hundred or more cities permit the recall. 

Commission form of city government. — In 1900 a West 
India hurricane struck Galveston, Texas, destroying thou- 
sands of lives and millions of dollars' worth of prop- 
erty. To protect the city from the lawlessness that 
usually follows such a disaster, three capable citizens took 
the power into their own hands with a view to administering 
public affairs until the municipal government could be re- 
organized. The success of this expedient led the citizens of 
Galveston to adopt the so-called commission form of govern- 
ment. Instead of a mayor and council, a board of five com- 
missioners was elected, the president of which performed 
the duties of mayor. To it was entrusted the management 
of all the city's affairs, but for convenience each had charge 
of a separate department, such as public safety, finance, 
health and sanitation, etc. Several years later Des Moines. 
Iowa, followed the example of Galveston, and after that 
the plan became so popular that by 1917 over four hundred 
cities had adopted the commission form of government. 

Dayton, Ohio, amended the Galveston plan by providing 
for a city manager to carry out all the acts of the commis- 
sion and to have fvillxrharge of the management of city busi- 
ness. The object was to conduct municipal aft'airs with the 
same economy and efficiency which would characterize pri- 
vate business and to get rid of employees put into their posi- 
tions to pay political debts. By 1916 over fifty municipali- 
ties in the United States were employing city managers. 



570 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



Education. — The last half-century has witnessed the 
greatest progress in education throughout the United States 
that the world has ever known. A higher degree of scholar- 
ship is within the reach of the high school student to-day 
than could be had in the colleges during the early years of 
national existence. Colleges and universities have so multi- 
plied that their benefits may be enjoyed by almost any 
person ambitious for higher education. 

Agricultural and mechanical colleges. — During the 
War of Secession Congress made its first direct grant for 
education within the states by the enactment of the Morrill 
Law. This act granted each state thirty thousand acres of 
public land for every member it had in Congress, and pro- 
vided that the proceeds from the sale of this land should be 
set aside as a perpetual fund for the maintenance of a col- 
lege of agriculture and mechani.cal arts. In 1890 and 1916 
laws were passed greatly increasing the income of these 
colleges, and providing for the maintenance of experiment 
stations in connection with them. 

Section Sixteen set aside to aid public schools. — After 
Ohio was admitted as a state Con- 
gress agreed to give it one section of 
land in each township as an endow- 
ment for its public school system, 
provided the lands belonging to the 
United States were not taxed. Later, 
as each new state was carved from 
the public domain, Congress made as 
large or even larger grants, both for 
its public schools and the state uni- 
versity. The result is that for public 
schools alone the United States has 
donated approximately 132,000,000 acres of public land, and 
most of the states have universities better equipped than 
was any college in the country in 1865, 



6 


5 


4 


3 


2 


1 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


18 


17 


16 


15 


14 


13 


19 


eo 


21 


ZZ 


23 


24 


30 


Z9 


28 


Z7 


26 


25 


31 


3Z 


33 


34 


35 


36 



Plan of a Congres- 
sional Township 
Showing Section 
Sixteen 



A HALF-CENTURV OF PROGRESS 571 

Industrial and commercial studies in the schools. — 

With the progress of the period the tendency of education 
has been toward the practical. As a resuh of the Russian 
exhibit at the Centennial Exposition, about 1880 manual 
training was introduced into the pubHc schools. Seven years 
later an experimental class in cooking was taught in Boston 
through the philanthropy of some wealthy women of that 
city. In the seventies commercial courses were organized in 
several high schools, but at first attracted few students, 
as the instruction was not thorough enough to enable grad- 
uates to take responsible positions in the business world. 
In 1888 an agricultural high school was established in con- 
nection with the University of Minnesota, but it aroused so 
little interest that only ten such schools had been started in 
as many years. 

Training in scientific agriculture. — The dawn of the 
twentieth century witnessed an alarming decline of in- 
terest in agriculture on the part of American youths. 
The attractions of the city and its demand for labor 
were rapidly draining the rural communities of their young 
people, and in all the older states the increase in abandoned 
farms was appalling. Far-sighted educators realized that to 
check this, farming must be made easier and more profitable 
through the employment of scientific methods, and that this 
training must begin in the public schools. Laws were en- 
acted making the study of agriculture compulsory in elemen- 
tary schools and providing for the establishment of agri- 
cultural high schools. Later county demonstration agents 
were provided by the Department of Agriculture, and finally 
in 1914 the Smith-Lever Act became a law, giving federal 
aid to the state agricultural colleges for cooperating with 
the United States Department of Agriculture in its exten- 
sion work. 

Consolidation of small schools and compulsory attend- 
ance. — ?\Iuch improvement was made in the construction 



572 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

of school buildings, and to-day the health of the pupil is safe- 
guarded by scientifically perfect heating, lighting, ventila- 
tion, seating and sanitation. The always weak one-room 
district schools are being abandoned and in place of them 




A Typical Consolidated Scliocjl. with the Wagons Used 
to Transport the Children 

there have been established thousands of consolidated 
schools, to which pupils are transported at public expense. 
Not only is education free, but in many states, including 
Texas, text-books are furnished without cost. In most states 
laws have been enacted requiring parents to send their chil- 
dren to school regularly, and the term has been so length- 
ened that nine months of schooling a year for every child 
is no longer a vain hope. 

Public libraries. — In 18-^8 Aiassachusetls authorized 
the levying of taxes for the support of public libraries. So 
many other states followed her exainple that to-day free 
libraries are counted by the thousands. In California nearly 
every county has established a library supported so lib- 
erally by special taxes that it is able to maintain many 
branches. Several states, including Oregon, Wisconsin and 
Kentucky, have library commissions which send traveling 
libraries to remote places. These usually consist of fifty 



A HALF-CENTURY OF PROGRKSS 573 

books and are exchanged every three months, thus bringing 
good up-to-date reading matter within reach of those unable 
to enjoy the privilege of a public library. A great impetus 
to the library movement was given when Andrew Carnegie, 
who had acquired in the steel industry a fortune estimated 
at five hundred million dollars, began donating funds for 
the erection of library buildings. 

The newspapers and magazines. — The press of the na- 
tion, comprehending both newspapers and magazines, is a 
mighty educational force. By 1915 twenty-six thousand 
periodicals were being published in the United States, and 
many of them were issued daily. The Saturday Evening 
Post, the leading weekly magazine, reaches a sale of over 
two million copies and several of the great dailies have a 
circulation of more than half a million. Such gigantic out- 
put has been made possible by the improvement of the 
cylinder press invented by Richard Hoe and by the type- 
setting machines which do as much work as eight or ten 
men formerly did in the same time. 

In 1860 there were only a few illustrated periodicals; 
to-day the humblest "country weekly" boasts of its pictures. 
In the early eighties cartoons were for the first time widely 
published to emphasize the editor's views on public ques- 
tions and immediately proved their worth. It is hard to 
estimate the influence they have exerted in arousing public 
opinion. 

To the "exposures" efifected by the newspapers, and espe- 
cially the low-priced magazines, may be traced the popular 
demand for much beneficial legislation, such as the curbing 
of trusts, eliminating of graft, and the bettering of society 
generally. That "the pen is mightier than the sword" has 
been proved many times within the last fifty years of Amer- 
ican historv. 



574 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. State the various things that caused so many people to move 

from the country to cities during the last few^ decades. What 
are the problems that result from the growth of cities? Are 
the country people in the state in which you live moving to 
the towns and cities as they were doing several years ago? 
How may country life be made attractive? 

2. What reason did President Wilson give for vetoing the Illiter- 

acy Act of 1917? 

3. Compare a trip from Washington, D. C, to San Francisco 

seventy-five years ago with one at present. How did the use of 
the bicycle help to lower the rent of working men? Has the 
automobile benefited even the farmer that does not own one? 

4. Make a list of some important inventions of the past fifty 

years. W^hat is the chief importance of the "movie" industry? 

5. Fourteen states west of the Mississippi River adopted complete 

woman suffrage before a single one east of it did. Can you 
explain that? What is the Susan B. Anthony Amendment? 
Did the failure of so many Southern States to ratify that 
amendment necessarily show that they were opposed to woman 
suffrage? 

6. If the initiative and referendum plan of state legislation exists 

in the state in which you live, explain it. 

7. W'hat are the advantages of the city manager plan of govern- 

ment? What are the chief objections to the old plan of mayor 
and council? 

8. Find the chief provisions of the following: the Morrill Law, 

the Smith-Hughes Act and the Smith-Lever Cooperative .Ex- 
tension Act. 

9. If the state in which you live has a compulsory education law, 

explain it. 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. The eastward movement of tlie center of population since 1910 

and its significance. 

2. Debate: Resolved that your state should adopt the recall of 

public officials. 

REFERENCE 

Mowry's American Inventors and Inventions. 



CHAPTER XLII 
THE STRUGGLE FOR EUROPEAN SUPREMACY* 

The Congress of Vienna. — April 6, 1814, is a memo- 
rable date in European history. For nearly ten years, in 
an effort to realize his ambition to be master of Europe, the 
Emperor Napoleon had made the whole continent one great 
battle-ground. At last, the war-weary peoples could an- 
ticipate an era of peace, for, completely beaten by the al- 
lied armies of Great Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria, 
Napoleon had been compelled to abdicate and retire to the 
Island of Elba. A few weeks later Louis XVHI, brother 
of the unfortunate Louis XVI, was placed on the throne of 
France and the work of the revolutionists seemed to be 
undone. 

The following winter the monarchs of Europe met at 
Vienna to readjust the map of Europe, so as to satisfy the 
aspirations of the larger powers. No thought was given 
the interests of the different regions which were being 
shifted about like chessmen. Catholic Belgium, speaking 
the French language, was arbitrarily joined to Protestant 
Holland. To Prussia were returned the two provinces on 
the west bank of the Rhine, which she had lost to France 
twenty-five years before ; to Austria was awarded much of 
northern Italy ; and to Russia was given a wedge of Polish 
territory between Austria and Prussia. To undo the injus- 
tices of the "Congress of Vienna" it required a hundred 
years and the shedding of much innocent blood. 

While the Congress of Vienna quarreled over its map- 
making, the startling news came that Napoleon had escaped 



*To THE Teacher. — This chapter has been included so that the pupils may 
■understand clearly the conditions in Europe which led to the World War. If 
desired, it may be read and discussed in class and then used for reference. 

575 



576 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

from his Mediterranean island-prison and was back once 
more in France. Well might the Congress shudder, for it 
knew that the ex-emperor was the idol of the veterans who 
had fought under his banner, and that his presence alone 
would fan all France into rebellion. Great armies were 
hurriedly set in motion and in scarcely one hundred days 
ifrom his landing Napoleon had met total defeat in Belgium 
on the field of Waterloo. Soon after, he was exiled to the 




St. Helena, the Lonely Island in the South Atlantic Where 
Napoleon Ended His Days 

lonely island of St. Helena where he spent the remainder of 
his days, an enforced "guest" of England. 

Europe breaks out in rebellion. — Out of the Congress 
of Vienna grew the "Holy Alliance." This was a league of 
I\tissia, Prussia and Austria to maintain the peace of Eu- 
rope by stifling revolutionary movements in any country. 
According to Emperor iVlexander of Russia, the originator 
of the idea, monarchs were to apply the principles of Chris- 
tianity — justice, charity and peace — in all their relations 
with foreign princes as well as with their own subjects. 
Europe soon found, however, that the Holy Alliance was a 
tyrannical force for crushing everything which promised 
better conditions for the masses. Popular uprisings were 
suppressed in Italy, Spain and Portugal, and a forcible re- 
turn to Spain of her revolting American colonies was con- 
sidered. As a result, by 1830 the spirit of the French Revo- 



THE STRUGGLE FOR EUROPEAN SUPREMACY 577 

lution had broken out again throughout much of Europe and 
more than one monarch could feel his throne tottering. 

Charles X of France was dethroned and the French 
crown was bestowed by the assembly on Louis Philippe, who 
called himself the "Citizen King," and boasted of his bour- 
geois or "middle class" origin. The Poles rebelled against 
the tyranny of the czar. The Catholic inhabitants of south- 
ern Netherlands rose in revolt and formed a kingdom of 
their own — Belgium. In Italy and Germany disturbances 
were rife and the people w'ere clamoring for constitutional 
government. Even the sober-minded Englishman, with his 
habitual hatred of disorder, was demanding parliamentary 
reform so insistently that the government dared not ig- 
nore it. 

So threatening was the situation in Great Britain that 
when the House of Lords remained obdurate, the king came 
to the aid of the Ministry with the following edict: 

"The King grants permission to Earl Gray and his Chan- 
cellor, Lord Brougham, to create such numbers of Peers as 
will be sufficient to insure the passing of the Reform Bill, 
first calling up Peers' eldest sons." 

Then the Lords yielded and Parliament passed the bill 
(1832). It provided for redistricting the country and get- 
ting rid of the rotten boroughs, and extended the right of 
suffrage to all property holders and taxpayers. Although 
the number of voters was increased fifty per cent., still for 
many years tenant-farmers and wage-earners had no part 
in the government. 

The powers guarantee Belgian neutrality. — Belgium 
had been the shuttlecock of Europe for centuries. Its rich 
resources and strategic location led one foreign poAver after 
another to seize it. Rome, France, Germany, Spain and 
.A.ustria, successively, had held the region before the Con- 
gress of Vienna joined it to Holland. When the Belgians 



578 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



revolted and declared themselves an independent kingdom 
Europe was confronted with a serious question. If the 
powers ignored their action, other peoples might think the 
work of the Congress could be overturned with impunity. 
On the other hand, were they to intervene and attempt forci- 
bly to reunite the country with Holland, trouble with Prus- 
sia might ensue, for the Belgians had chosen a German 
prince as their king. 

The czar of Russia and the emperor of Austria favored 
intervention, but France and Great Britain refused to con- 
sent to it. At last, in 1839, it was agreed that the inde- 
pendence of Belgium should be guaranteed by the great 
powers, and that the kingdom should always observe strict 
neutrality in European disputes. The powers further 

pledged themselves 
to respect its neu- 
trality, which meant 
they would never in- 
vade the country. 

Prussia begins to 
dominate Germany. 
— At the time of the 
Commonwealth in 
England there came 
to a close in Central 
Europe a terrible 
war, known in his- 
tory as the Thirty 
Years' War (1648). 
In what is now Ger- 
many several hun- 
dred petty princes 

Facsimile of Signatures to the Treaty became almost inde- 
Guaranteeing Belgian Neutrality pendent sovereigns. 

That of the Prussian chancellor is t^i „j r„ „„_1 

next to the last Then and for nearly 




THE STRUGGLE FOR EUROPEAN SUPREMACY 579 

two hundred years afterward, the ruler of Austria was em- 
peror of Germany, and to him all these German princes 
owed nominal allegiance. Already, however, another Ger- 
man state — Prussia — had begun to grow rich and powerful. 
By the middle of the next century it had absorbed many of 
the weaker principalities and built up the most perfectly 
trained army Europe had known since the time of Julius 
Caesar. 

During the Napoleonic Wars Austrian prestige suffered 
such a blow that in 1806 Francis II surrendered his title to 
the imperial crown and the old German Empire came to 
an end. 

Partly to check the rising power of Prussia, Napoleon 
united most of the small kingdoms and principalities of 
western Germany into the Confederation of the Rhine. The 
Congress of Vienna, bent on undoing as much of Napoleon's 
work as possible, created a new Confederacy, which in- 
cluded all the German states, and placed the emperor of 
Austria at its head. 

Instead of granting their subjects constitutions as they 
had promised to do, most of the German rulers, influenced 
by Prince Metternich, the Austrian chancellor, continued 
to govern autocratically. As a result much of Germany was 
submerged by the revolutionary waves which swept over 
Europe in 1830 and 1848, and their collapse was followed by 
a large migration of Germans to America. 

The rise of the dual monarchy. — Before the advent of 
Napoleon, Belgium and Luxemburg had been provinces be- 
longing to the emperor of Austria. In the Congress of 
Vienna, Austria insisted in exchanging them for Lombardy 
and Venetia in northern Italy. Whatever advantage she 
gained by extending her borders beyond the Alps she more 
than lost by annexing great numbers of liberty-loving Ital- 
ians to add to the confusion in her empire. Already Austria 
was composed of many difTerent peoples differing much in 



580 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



language, traditions and aspirations. The Austrians them- 
selves were a German people ; the Hungarians, a ]\Iag)'ar ; 
the Bohemians, a Slavic; and the Roumanians and Italians, 
Latin peoples. Without any national spirit to l)ind them to- 



•Warsav 




Slavic Peoples 
talian 
LJ Roumanian 
W German 
'M Magyar 
M Bulear 



Distribution of Races in the Dual Monarch}- 
and tlie Danuliian States 



gether it is not surprising that the emperor was constantly 
engaged in putting down rebellions against his authority. 
In 1828, while Austria's troops were busy quelling a re- 
volt in the Piedmont (an independent Italian state) in 
behalf of the Holy Alliance, the Hungarians revived their 
former constitution and restored their forbidden language. 
Next the Bohemians made an attempt to reinstate their 
native tongue, and soon after the Poles rebelled. The result 
was that by 1848 the whole Austrian empire was ablaze with 
revolution, and Prince Metternich, whose tyrannical policy 
was responsible for it, had resigned his office and fled. Con- 
fronted with rebellion in \^ienna itself, the emperor abdi- 



THE STRUGGLE FOR EUROPKAX SUPREMACY 581 

cated in favor of his nephew, Francis Joseph. Aided by 
Russian troops the new monarch put down the Hungarians 
with such severity that he was able to quell the disturbances 
in other parts of the empire without outside assistance. 

An enforced peace does not last long, and in 1859 the 
Italian province of Lombardy succeeded in winning its inde- 
pendence from Austria. Eight years later, while Francis 
Joseph was still smarting from the sting of his recent defeat 
by Prussia, he was compelled by the Hungarians to restore 
their old parliament, and to separate the internal affairs of 
Hungary from those of Austria. To satisfy his turbulent 
Magyar subjects he was crowned king of Hungary at Buda- 
pest. Although his Latin and Slavic subjects constituted a 
large majority of the population of the "dual monarchy," 
its government was wholly in the hands of the Germans and 
Magy^ars. 

The unification of Italy. — \\'hile England and France 
were building up empires in America, the little Italian states 
were quarreling among themselves. Ruled by independent 
princes and without a united army they were an easy prey 
for their stronger neighbors. During the French Revolu- 
tion Austria formed a coalition with Prussia against France. 
To avenge this interference in French affairs Napoleon led 
an army across the Alps and despoiled her of a large part 
of the provinces in northern Italy. In a few years so much 
of the peninsula had been brought under French domina- 
tion that upon becoming emperor he created from a part of 
it the kingdom of Naples and placed his brother Joseph on 
its throne. Rome was taken and the Pope's residence was 
changed to southern France. 

The Congress of Vienna undid all this and made most of 
northern and central Italy subject to either Austria or the 
Pope. The Duke of Savoy, w^ho had been dethroned by 
Napoleon, received back not only his ancestral duchy at the 
foot of the Alps but Sardinia and Piedmont as well. Charles 



582 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



Albert, a later duke, was a liberal-minded sovereign. When 
the revolutionary waves reached Italy in 1832 and 1848, he 
assisted several of the states in wresting constitutions from 
their rulers, and even went so far as to take up arms against 
Austria in behalf of her Italian subjects who were strug- 



SWITZER' 



:1>V^^. 




t^ 






^ Kingdom inherited 
' by Charles Albert 



Italia irredenta 



Annexations 
in 1860 



Ceded to France 
in I860 

Wrested from the Pope 
in I870 



Reward for part taken m 
Seven Weeks War 



« 



I Surrendered by Austria 



How the Unification of Italy was Effected 



THE STRUGGLE FOR EUROPEAN SUPREMACY 583 

gling for their independence. Receiving a crushing defeat, 
he abdicated in favor of his son, Victor Emmanuel 11. 

In 1859 Victor Emmanuel finally succeeded in wresting 
Lombardy from Austria. Two years later, after Garibaldi, 
with his army of patriots, had captured Sicily and over- 
thrown the kingdom of Naples, Victor Emmanuel was pro- 
claimed king of Italy. By this time all the peninsula except 
Venice and Rome was included in his kingdom. Venice was 




The Vatican at Rome— the Residence of the Pope 

As a protest against the capture of Rome, since that time no Pope 

has ever left the Vatican grounds 

added after the Seven Weeks' War as a reward for aid ren- 
dered Prussia in the attack on Austria. An effort, however, 
to take Rome in 1867 failed because Louis Napoleon, the 
French king, who was an ardent Catholic, sent troops to aid 
the Papal forces. Three years later when war with Ger- 
many was imminent, France withdrew her soldiers, and 
•Victor Emmanuel compelled the surrender of the "eternal 
city" on the seven hills, and made it the capital of a united 
Italy. 

Alonsf the northern and eastern shores of the Adriatic 



584 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTOR^■ 

and among the Alps there still remained under the rule of 
Austria-Hungary, however, large areas peopled by Italians. 
In this Italia Irredenta ("Italy Unredeemed") lay the great 
cities of Trieste and Trent, as well as the Austrian naval 
base, Pola. 

Bismarck's ruthless policy. — In 1861 William I be- 
came king of Prussia. Urged on by his chancellor, Prince 
Otto von Bismarck, his reign was devoted to uniting all 
the German states into one great confederation under the 
domination of Prussia. Prussia owed her commanding in- 
fluence in German afifairs to her army, and Bismarck would 
brook no opposition to his plans for making it the great- 
est fighting machine on the continent. When the Diet 
(assembly) refused to cooperate, the chancellor dissolved 
it, declaring, "Not by speeches and majority votes are the 
great questions of the age to be decided, but by blood and 
iron." Enforced military service had prevailed since the 
days of Frederick the Great, and at this time every able- 
bodied youth was compelled to spend several years in the 
army. After that he became one of the "reserves" and was 
liable to be called to the colors at any time. It was to escape 
this enforced military service that many German youths 
fled to the United States. 

There was only one serious obstacle in the way of Bis- 
marck's ambition for Prussia — the old German Confedera- 
tion presided over by the emperor of Austria — and some 
plan must be found for destroying this creature of the Con- 
gress of Vienna. In 1864 Prussia and Austria had forced 
Denmark to renounce her claims to the provinces of Schles- 
wig and Holstein ; so Bismarck proceeded to pick a quarrel 
with Austria over their administration. The Seven Weeks' 
War followed and put an end to Austrian influence in Ger- 
man affairs. Those states in northern Germany which had 
sided with Austria were annexed to Prussia, and Bismarck 
then proceeded to complete the first stage of his ambition, 



THE STRUGGLK FOR ICLROPKAN SL'PREMACY 585 



by organizing the North German Confederation, a league of 
the states north of the Main River, vuider the presidency of 
Prussia. 

The struggle for European supremacy was now on. 







% ^W^:' JOINED the- "X, 
CV "Vi^FGERMAN EMPIREJ 

M^ ie7o ,-•'' m 



SWITZERLAND 



■■ Prussia Orifinall^ 

I Au&fnan Territory ] \ Wrested from 

1 adJed in 1740 F^^ Denmark m 1664 

I Fblisb "Territory added ISSSS! AnncKafions after rtie 
1 from 1772 to 1795 \it°%\ Seven Weeks War 1866 

] Annewfions confirmed |;;::;;;J Annexations efter the 
j byCongrcss dl Berlin l!!:::!:] Franco Prussian War 
In 1815 in 1871 



How Prussia Gradually Became Supreme in Germany 

France viewed with alarm the sudden overthrow of her old- 
time ally, Austria, from leadership in German affairs, and 
openly used her influence to prevent the southern states 
from joining the new confederation. 

The Franco-Prussian War. — This war was unique in 
that it was desired by both belligerents. In order to realize 
his ambition to make Germany, under the leadership of 
Prussia, the dominating continental power, Bismarck needed 
to humble France. Louis Napoleon, chafing because his im- 
perial rule lacked the brilliancy of his illustrious uncle's, 
felt that a successful war with Prussia would go far to- 
ward wiping out his unpopularity. He was by no means 
blind to the discontent occasioned throusrhout France bv his 



586 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

humiliating fiasco in Mexico, by his alhance with Victor 
Emmanuel as a result of which French troops had aided the 
Italians wrest Lombardy from Austria for two trifling bits 
of territory, and more recently by his profitless intrigue with 
Bismarck which enabled Prussia to attack Austria while 
France remained inactive. A cause was not long lacking, 
for in 1868 Spain dethroned her queen and offered the 
crown to a Prussian prince. Louis Napoleon, fearful that 
it would upset the balance of power in Europe, protested 
against this arrangement, and although the prince had de- 
clined the offer, demanded that William should give his 
promise that no Prussian prince should ever be a candidate 
for the place. Bismarck refused rudely to consider any 
such demand, and France hastened to declare war. 

Germany was ready with four hundred seventy-five thou- 
sand highly trained soldiers and that many more in the re- 
serves, while her opponent could muster only about two 
hundred seventy thousand. Small as their forces were the 
French made the mistake of dividing them into two widely 
separated armies. Taking advantage of this the Germans 
drove a wedge between them and then settled with each 
separately. One was surrounded at Metz in the French 
province of Lorraine ; the other, with the emperor himself, 
was forced to surrender at Sedan, in northeastern France, 
September 2, 1870. When news of Napoleon's defeat 
reached Paris, the people once more proclaimed France a 
republic, and made ready to withstand a siege. Their re- 
sistance was unavailing, for threatened with starvation the 
city was forced to capitulate, late in January, 1871. Bis- 
marck dictated as terms of peace, the return to Germany of 
Alsace and the German-speaking portion of Lorraine, which 
two hundred years before Louis XIV had annexed to 
France. In addition the French were to pay a war indem- 
nity of one billion dollars. 

Before this war Bismarck had formed a secret alliance 



THE STRUGGLE FOR EUROPEAN SUPREMACY 587 



with the rulers of the southern German states, by which they 
pledged their assistance should Prussia be attacked by 
France. The pride of the whole "fatherland" had been so 
stirred by the brilliant success of the German armies that 
Bismarck took advantage of the opportunity to change the 
confederation into an empire, with the king of Prussia as 



muHHi "' 


s. 


' ' '-^ 


^tm t ■ '^Ci^#^^^^^^^^ 






;f» 




Im V r ^u•^m 








^*"" : 



Coronation of William I as Emperor of Germany, 
January 18, 1871 

hereditary emperor. On January 18, 1871, in the old palace 
of the French kings at Versailles, a suburb of Paris, 
William was crowned as the first emperor of the reunited 
Germany. 

The sick man of Europe. — For centuries the entrench- 
ment of the Turks on the shores of the Bosphorus had been 
a source of constant irritation to all Europe. As has al- 
ready been noted it was the fall of Constantinople and the 
subsequent interference with the Far Eastern trade by the 
Turks that inspired the effort to find a water route to the 
Indies and led incidentally to the discovery of America. 
Urged on by their hatred of the "Christian dogs," as they 
called Catholic and Protestant alike, the Mohammedans 



588 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

overran all southeastern Europe and even threatened the 
Germans. About the time of the American Revolution their 
progress northward was definitely checked by the half-sav- 
age armies of Russia. Later, after one of the most heroic 
struggles recorded in history, the Greeks, led by Marcos 
Bozzaris, threw off the Turkish yoke (1821). From then 
the sultan's power declined steadily and his empire was so 
woefully mismanaged that he was commonly spoken of as 
the "Sick Man of Europe." 

For a long time Russia had been casting longing eyes at 
Constantinople, which she greatly needed to give her Black 
Sea commerce a free outlet to the Mediterranean. Europe 
now became alarmed lest she might be able to reach this 
goal, and thus disturb the balance of power. In 1854, the 
czar undertook to take under his "protection" the Turkish 
provinces of Serbia, Bulgaria and Bosnia, and thus l)rought 
on the Crimean War. Great Britain, France and Victor 
Emmanuel, closing their eyes to Turkey's atrocious treat- 
ment of her Christian subjects, hastened to the sultan's aid. 
In the peace treaty which followed, the powers guaranteed 
the integrity of the Turkish dominions in Europe, and Rus- 
sia renounced all designs on them. 

The rise of the Balkan States, — Intolerance of other re- 
ligions has always been a part of the Mohammedan creed 
and for three-quarters of the nineteenth century the mas- 
sacres of Christians and Jews in the sultan's Balkan prov- 
inces shocked the civilized world. At last, in 1875, the 
inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina revolted. All the 
other Balkan peoples cooperated and the Russians, related 
to them by blood, came to their aid. As a result the Turks 
were totally defeated (1878) and, but for the intervention 
of the great powers, the Near Eastern question would have 
been settled once for all. At a congress held in Berlin, 
Great Britain, France, Germany and Austria again saved 
Turkev, lest Russia should realize her ambition on the Bos- 



THE STRUGGLE FOR EUROPEAN SUPREMACY 589 



phorus. Montenegro, Roumania and Serbia were recog- 
nized as independent nations ; Bulgaria was awarded the 
right of self-government under the nominal sovereignty of 
Turkey ; and Bosnia and Herzegovina were placed under 
the protection of Austria. The most far-reaching result 




Courtesy of lUe Independent 

The Goal of Russia's Ambition 

The narrow white line connecting the Black Sea with 

tlie Sea of Marmora is the lic^sphorus 

was the bitter feeling toward Germany felt by the Russians, 
who considered Bismarck responsible for the opposition of 
the Congress of Berlin to the realization of their national 
ambition. 

Bismarck forms the "Triple Alliance." — When Bis- 
marck realized how bitter Russia and France felt toward 
Germany because of his selfish, ruthless policy, he formed 
an alliance with Austria-Hungary (1879) and Italy (1882). 
The primary purpose of this "Triple iMliance" was to pre- 
vent Russia from expanding into the Balkan region and to 
bring aid to Germany in case she was attacked by France. 
To of?"set it, Russia and France formed the "Dual Alliance," 
and for many years these two alliances kept Europe in a 
state of peace. The military strength of the two groups of 



590 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

powers so nearly balanced that the outcome of any war was 
too uncertain to cause either to be desirous of precipitating 
a struggle. Meanwhile Great Britain held herself aloof 
from both alliances, though by no means blind to Germany's 
aspiration to become supreme in European affairs. 

The Germany of the twentieth century. — By the twen- 
tieth century Germany had become a menace to the world. 
Although nominally a constitutional empire with a parlia- 
ment called the Reichstag, the real power was vested in the 
Bundesrat. This was a council composed of sixty-one am- 
bassadors representing the rulers of the several kingdoms, 
duchies and principalities, and the three free cities, that 
made up the empire. The king of Prussia had the most in- 
fluence in the Bundesrat for he controlled twenty-one votes 
and his prime minister acted as its president. Unlike the 
United States, where many measures must originate in the 
lower house of Congress, in Germany all important bills 
originated in the Bundesrat. The power of the Reichstag 
was limited to approving such legislation as had been en- 
acted in the Bundesrat with the consent of the princes of the 
realm. As commander-in-chief of the army the kaiser 
could wage a war of defense without any authorization, and 
only needed to obtain that of the Bundesrat for one of 
aggression. Whereas in Great Britain the prime minister 
is responsible to Parliament, the German imperial chan- 
cellor was appointed and dismissed by the kaiser, and al- 
though a member of both the Bundesrat and Reichstag, 
was responsible to neither. In the United States all officials, 
including the army, are sworn to support and defend the 
Constitution ; in Germany they took an oath to defend the 
kaiser. Most officials were chosen from the "war lords," 
as the army officers were called, or from the "junkers," 
that is, the rich landowners. 

Kaiser William, the War Lord of Europe. — Twentieth- 
century Germany can not be understood apart from Kaiser 



THE STRUGGLE FOR EUROPEAN SUPREMACY 591 

William II, the War Lord of Europe. His declaration, on 
ascending the throne in 1888, was, "We consider ourselves 
as designed by God to govern the peoples over which it is 
given us to reign." A stern autocrat, he had no patience 
with opposition, insisting: "One shall be master. It is I." 
To the Socialists in the Reichstag who opposed his military 
program, he referred as "a horde of men unworthy to bear 
the name of Germans." Never did Kaiser William forget 
that it was the army which placed the imperial crown on 
his grandfather's head at Versailles, and on becoming em- 
peror said, "So we are bound together — I and the army." 
When he demanded Bismarck's resignation, shortly after 
coming to the throne, in order to have a freer hand, he in- 
sisted it was "ordained of God." 

After the close of the Franco-Prussian War and the 
acquisition of the rich iron and coal deposits of Alsace- 
Lorraine, the Germans rapidly became the leading manu- 
facturing nation of Europe. A firm believer in the old 
doctrine that a nation must have colonies to supply raw ma- 
terials for its manufactures and controlled markets for its 
products and that the flag follows trade, early in his reign 
Kaiser William became imbued with the idea of winning 
for Germany "a place in the sun." He encouraged the ex- 
pansion of German trade with every means in his power. 
Unfortunately for Germany, by 1890, little territory re- 
mained available for colonization, and she found herself so 
tardy in entering the "colony game" that it seemed as 
though she must content herself with such remnants as the 
Shantung Peninsula wrested from China, a few islands in 
the Pacific, and several fever-infected districts in Africa. 
It was not unnatural for her, therefore, to look with land- 
hungry eyes on the rich colonial possessions of Great Brit- 
ain and France, her great commercial rivals. 

The Pan-Germanic scheme. — Out of his ambition for 
the fatherland grew the kaiser's Pan-Germanic scheme. 



592 OUR COUXTRV'S HISTORY 

His fertile mind saw that could Germany only drive a wedge 
from the North Sea to the Persian Gulf, she would separate 
the Latin peoples in western Europe from the Slavs in the 
east, and that world domination would then be easy to ac- 
complish. According to the Pan-Germanic scheme, this 
vast area, of which Germany, and more especially Prussia, 
was to be the mistress, would consist of three grand divi- 
sions. Extending through central Europe there would be 
a great confederation of allied states, embracing the Ger- 
man Empire, ^Vustria-Hungary, Holland, Belgium, the rich 
eastern portion of France, Switzerland, and Russia's west- 
ern provinces. To the south the Balkan nations would be- 
come a group of vassal states, while the Turkish Empire, 
increased eventually by the annexation of Eg>-pt and Persia, 
would for a time be a j^rotectorate under the strict ]iolitical 
and economic domination of Germany. 

So strongly did the kaiser insist, "God has called us to 
civilize the world," that in the eyes of his subjects this idea 
of "Pan-Germanism" took on the aspect of a crusade, the 
object of which condoned any dishonorable means employed 
to attain it. Although unwilling to believe that this man, 
who liked to be called "the Apostle of Peace," was prepar- 
ing to impose "German Kultur" on the world with the 
sword. Great Britain, France, Russia, and in fact all the 
leading powers, began making lavish expenditures for mili- 
tary preparedness. The British adjusted their long-standing 
differences with Russia and France, and then the three na- 
tions organized an informal alliance, known as the "Triple 
Entente" because there was no definite treaty (1907). 

The powder magazine of Europe. — No sooner were the 
Balkan States rid of Turkish tyranny than they became the 
"Powder Magazine of Europe," for they were engaged in 
constant turmoil over boundaries and trade restrictions. Be- 
ins;^ on the direct route from Berlin to Bagdad, Serbia was 
in many respect.s the dominant power, but her progress was 



THE STRUGGLE FOR EUROPEAN SUPREMACY 593 




594 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

handicapped by lack of a seaport, and the burdensome trade 
restrictions imposed by Austria. Between Serbia and the 
Adriatic Sea lay the Slavic provinces of Bosnia and Herze- 
govina, which were under the protection of Austria. In 
1908 Austria broke her pledge not to interfere with their 
sovereignty, and annexed them. The Serbians had long 
been dreaming of a "greater Serbia," embracing all the 
Slavic peoples in the Balkan region, as well as those living 
north of the Danube under the rule of Austria-Hungary, 
with themselves at its head. Without these Adriatic prov- 
inces they could never hope to become a strong nation. 
Russia, the champion of the Slavic world, was just emerg- 
ing from her crushing defeat by Japan. She dared do no 
more than to protest to Austria for Germany coolly in- 
formed the czar's government that any aggression against 
Austria would compel Germany to take up arms in support 
of her ally. 

German domination of the Near East. — While German 
settlers and traders were hewing out an empire in the 
African jungles, German bankers and manufacturers were 
seeking the commercial conquest of the Near East, as the 
Balkan regions and Turkey in Asia are called. Austria- 
Hungary, a subservient ally since 1879, was encouraged by 
Germany in its desire to extend southeastward. The Rou- 
manians and Bulgars had chosen German princes for their 
kings, and now the kaiser married his sister to Constantine, 
heir to the Greek throne. Turkey, not unmindful of what 
German influence had done for her in the past, unwittingly 
cooperated. Prussian army officers were allowed to re- 
organize the Turkish army and to fortify the Bosphorus. 
and German bankers were granted concessions to build rail- 
ways throughout the empire. In 1893 a German company 
completed the Anatolian Railway, which connected the lead- 
ing cities of Asia Minor with Constantinople. Ten years 
later an extension to Bagdad was begun and by 1914 four- 



THE STRUGGLE FOR EUROPEAN SUPREMACY 595 




Terminus of the Bagdad Railway across the 

Bospliiirii-^ from Constantinoi)le 



fifths of the hne was in operation. With these railroads 
Germany planned to compete for the rich Indian and Af- 
rican trade, and to develop such commanding influence 
among the J\Io- 
hammedans that 
they would ally 
themselves with 
her in the final 
struggle for su- 
premacy. 

Only one se- 
rious ohstacle 
stood in her 
path — Serhian 
ambition. The 
Serbians are a 
Slavic people, bound to the Russians by blood, language and 
religion. They hated Austria even more than did their Rus- 
sian kinsmen, and resented the high-handed policy pursued 
toward her weak Balkan neighbors. As Germany could not 
hope to bribe Serbia, she resorted to coercion through 
xA.ustria-Hungary on the north and Bulgaria on the east. 

The Balkan Wars.— In 1912 the Balkan States sur- 
prised the world by submerging their dififerences and making 
a joint war on Turkey. The avowed purpose was to bring 
to an end the atrocious treatment of the sultan's Christian 
subjects dwelling within the peninsula, by freeing them com- 
pletely from Turkish rule. Underneath there lurked, how- 
ever, the ambition to divide among themselves Turkey's 
European possessions. Attacked almost simultaneously by 
Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece, Turkey was soon 
forced to sue for peace. By the terms of the treaty signed 
in London on ]\Iay 30, 1913, the sultan relinquished all 
claims to European territory, except a small region sur- 
rounding Constantinople. 



596 



OUR COUXTR\'S lUSTORV 



Serbia now expected to gain her longed-for port on the 
Adriatic, but German intrigue blocked this. During the pre- 
ceding year the Turkish province, Albania, lying south of 
Montenegro, had been proclaimed an autonomous state, and 
now Serbia was compelled to recognize its independence. 

The Treaty of London had failed to define the boundaries 
of the Balkan States. Bulgaria, urged on secretly by the 
kaiser with a view to weakening Serbian influence in the 
peninsula, insisted on more than her share of the territory 
recently won. As a result, just one month after the signing 
of the Treaty of London, the Balkan States were at war 
again. This time Bulgaria was opposed by Roumania, 
Serbia and Greece. Turkey, too, seized the opportunity to 
pounce upon the territory Bulgaria had just wrested from 
her. 

The Treaty of Bucharest. — Much to Germany's chagrin 
the Bulgars were beaten. Li the Treaty of Bucharest which 
followed (1913), not only was Turkey able to double at 




^Apfi-Cerman Govemmenrs. +■♦++ Berlin -Daftdad Railroad 
The Barrier in the Balkans to the Pan-Germanic Scheme 



THE STRUGGLE FOR EUROPEAN SUPREMACY 597 

Bulgaria's expense what she had saved of her former Euro- 
pean possessions, but the Bulgars were forced to cede to 
Roumania a rich corner of territory adjoining the Black 
Sea. Most important, however, was the loss sustained by 
German influence in the peninsula. Roumania now began 
to cast longing eyes at Austria's rich Transylvania province 
with its large Roumanian population, and no longer were 
the kaiser's royal relatives at Athens and Bucharest able to 
prevent their governments from receiving with favor the 
advances of the Triple Entente. It was apparent that an 
anti-German barrier had suddenly been erected in the 
Balkans which efifectively blocked the kaiser's Pan-Ger- 
manic scheme. North of the Danube Francis Joseph's 
Slavic and Latin subjects were clamoring so boldly for the 
political power to which their numbers entitled them that the 
German-Magyar supremacy in the dual monarchy was 
threatened with extinction, and with it would come to an end 
German domination. 

Far-sighted statesmen in the capitals of Europe saw that 
the Treaty of Bucharest was merely a truce and that an- 
other and greater war must soon follow. All the important 
powers began to make feverish military preparations, for 
it was felt that the next explosion of the "Powder Maga- 
zine" would reverberate throughout Europe. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1 To understand the causes of the Great World War it is neces- 
sary to go back at least one hundred years in European his- 
torj', to the time when the seeds of national jealousy and in- 
justice were planted. What was the Congress of Vienna? 
When was it held ? 

2. The text states that tlie "Holy Alliance" grew out of the Con- 

gress of Vienna. What was the "Holy Alliance"? Can you 
explain how it grew out of the Congress of Vienna? 

3. Learn what is meant by the statement that Belgium has been 

the shuttlecock of Europe for centuries. When was the neu- 
trality of Belgium guaranteed? By whom was it guaranteed? 



598 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

Did Belgium live up to her part of the agreement? Did all 
the other nations live up to their pledges? 

4. Explain the origin of the Italia Irredenta question. 

5. What great political achievement was accomplished by Fred- 

erick William I and his Chancellor, Prince Otto von Bis- 
marck? Do j-ou believe Bismarck's "blood and iron" policy 
was just and right? Why? 

6. What political changes in Italy were made by the Congress of 

Vienna? Who was largely responsible for the unification 
of Italy. 

7. Write in your note-book an account of the Franco-Prussian 

War, using the following outline: (a) Cause; (b) Result; 
(c) Peace terms. 

8. Turkey has been called the "sick man" of Europe. Learn why. 

Why has Russia been desirous of the straits at Constanti- 
nople? What was the Crimean War? 

9. The nations in Europe have played the "colony game" for cen- 

turies. What was the old theory of colonization? Has this 
theory been abandoned? What countries formed the "Triple 
Alliance"? Why was this alliance formed? What countries 
formed the "Dual .Alliance"? Why was it formed? Explain 
the origin of the "Triple Entente." 
10. Name and locate on the map the Balkan States. Why have 
these states been called the "Powder Magazine of Europe"? 

SUBJECTS I'OK FURTHER STUDY 

1. "Pan-Germanism" and "German Kultur." 

2. The Crimean War. 

3. The Crime of the FrancorPrussian War. 

REFERENCES 

1. Gordy's The Causes and Meaning of the Great War. 

2. Benezet's The World War and What Was Behind It. 



CHAPTER XLIII 
A SCHOOL-TEACHER IN THE WHITE HOUSE 

W'oodrow JJ'ilson, President. iQi^-igiy 

The presidential election of 1912. — During the first part 
of President Taft's administration ex-President Roosevelt 
was engaged in a himting expedition in Africa and a lecture 
tour in Europe. On his return to the United States, finding 
the Republican party split in two factions over the question 
of jM-ogressive legislation, he aligned himself with the In- 
surgents and became their recognized leader. 

So bitter was the fetid that in 1912 many of the states sent 
two contesting delegations to the Republican convention — 
one representing the Conservative wing, the other the In- 
surgents. After a long wrangle, enough Conservatives w-ere 
seated to renominate President Taft. Roosevelt's support- 
ers insisted that the nomination hatl been stolen and with- 
drew from the convention. They immediately proceeded 
to form a new party which they called the Progressive, 
and in the convention which followed they nominated Theo- 
dore Roosevelt for their leader. The Democrats chose 
as their champion \\'oodrow Wilson, then governor of New 
Jersey, but whose life, until a few years before, had been 
spent as a. teacher. 

The campaign resembled somewhat that of 1840. Taft 
and Roosevelt toured the cotmtry, and indulged in violent 
attacks on each other's policies, often descending to per- 
sonal criticism. \\'ilson made but few speeches away from 
home, relying mainly upon his friends to present the merits 
of his candidacy tn tlic pcojik'. In the election Taft secured 

.=59Q 



600 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



eight electoral votes, Roosevelt, eighty-eight, and Wilson, 
four hundred thirty-five, although he had received only 
6,300,000 of the 15,000,000 voteg cast. 

The startling feature of the election was the number of 
votes polled by the Socialist party — 898,000 — an increase of 




Distribution of Electoral Y'otes in the Election of 1912 



nearly one thousand per cent, since 1900. An outgrowth 
of the old Socialist Labor party organized in 1892, it had 
grown rapidly with the increased immigration which fol- 
lowed the return of prosperity after the panic of 1893. 
Believing that economic conditions made it possible for some 
people to enjoy great wealth and forced many others to suf- 
fer poverty and misery, the Socialists proposed that the na- 
tional government should confiscate all natural resources 
such as mines and forests, and public utilities such as rail- 
roads and telegraph lines. They would then have it utilize 
them for the benefit of the whole people. 

The new president. — Woodrow Wilson entered office 
with the distinction of being the first southerner to occupy 



A SCHOOL-TEACHER IN THE WHITE HOUSE 601 



the White House since Andrew Johnson. Born of Scotch- 
Irish ancestry at Staunton, \'irginia, most of his youthful 
years were spent in Georgia. On completion of his edu- 
cation he became a 
teacher of history and 
government, and even- 
tually the president of 
Princeton University. 
His great work there 
consisted in transform- 
ing the institution from 
"a place where there are 
youngsters doing tasks 
to a place where there 
are men thinking." 

In 1910 the people of 
New Jersey decided that 
a reform in their state 
government was impera- 
tive. The Democrats 
met this demand by 
nominating for the gov- 
ernorship the man who 
had freed Princeton University from its outgrown tradi- 
tions and in the election were victorious. Governor Wilson 
inaugurated the plan of going outside the state, if neces- 
sary, to secure suitable men for public ofifices. Believing that 
a chief executive "is at liberty, both in law and conscience, 
to be as big a man as he can," he used the weapon of direct 
appeal to the people as a means of securing the enactment 
of the legislation he desired. New Jersey had long been 
notorious as the domicile of many of the country's most 
corrupt business organizations. Wilson effected such a re- 
vision of the corporation laws that this stigma was removed 




Woodrow Wilson 



602 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

from the state. With his record he became by 1912 the 
logical person for the progressive element in the Democratic 
party to urge for the presidency. 

A new tariff law and an income tax. — President Wilson 
at once summoned Congress in special session and appear- 
ing before it read his message in person, a thing Avhich had 
not been done since the administration of John Adams. 
With his aid a tarifif measure framed by Representative 
Underwood, of Alabama, which lowered duties to a level 
of about twenty per cent, was enacted. To make up the loss 
in revenue an income tax law was passed, as authorized by 
the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution. By this law, 
as subsequently amended, incomes of single persons in ex- 
cess of one thousand dollars a year, or two thousand dollars 
in the case of heads of families, were made subject to taxa- 
tion. 

The Federal Reserve Banking System. — The great 
panic of 1893 and a smaller one in 1907 had convinced 
bankers that the country needed a new financial system 
which would enable the supply of money to be increased 
quickly in times of stringency, and permit idle funds to be 
shifted easily to localities suffering from a shortage. Again 
with the aid of the president, Congress enacted the Glass- 
Owen Law, which divided the United States into twelve 
districts and created in each a Federal Reserve Bank. The 
act further required all national banks in the district to 
own stock in the reserve bank, and under certain conditions 
permitted state banks to do likewise. Control of the na- 
tion's currency was placed in the hands of a Federal Re- 
serve Board, consisting of the secretary of the treasury, the 
comptroller of currency, and five other persons appointed 
bv the president. This board was authorized to issue cur- 
rency and retire it according to the needs of the nation. 

An anti-trust law; — 1'o redeem their platform pledge 
the Democrats enacted the Clavton Anti-Trust Law. This 



A SCHOOL-TEACHER IX THE WHITE HOUSE 603 



law forbade an individual to act as director in more than one 
corporation in the same or closely related lines of business, 
and sought in other ways to regulate trusts so as to make 
them a benefit to society instead of an injury. Another 
popular act was that creating the farm loan banks from 
which farmers may obtain loans, secured by their lands, 
for long terms at a rate of interest lower than that charged 
by other money-lenders. 

The revolution in Mexico. — As we have already learned, 
after the ^lexicans got rid of Maximilian they re-established 
their so-called republic. In reality Mexico did not know the 
meaning of democratic government, for she had been ruled 
by dictators ever since she had secured independence. In 
1876 the Great Dictator. Porfirio Diaz, became president 
and gave the unhappy land the first peace it had known in 
many years. The "reign" of Diaz brought prosperity to a 
small part of the people, 
but the condition of the 
masses was little im- 
])roved. In Mexico there 
are two widely sepa- 
rated classes — the Cas- 
tilians, or descendants 
of the Spanish conquer- 
ors, and the "peons."' a 
mixed race mainly of 
Indian descent. The land 
belonged to the Cas- 
tilians, and individual 
holdings frequently 
reached millions of 
acres. The "peons" occupied a position of serfdom on the 
large "haciendas" (plantations). Alany of them were paid 
only twenty-five cents (worth only half as much in United 
States money) a day. 




A Peon Village in Southern 
Mexico 



604 OUR COUXTRY'S HISTORY 

Diaz inaugurated the plan of granting concessions to 
foster railroad building and the development of mining, 
manufacturing and agricultural enterprises. Citizens of the 
United States obtained many of them, and hundreds of 
millions of American capital were invested in their exploi- 
tation. In 1910 Francisco Madero, an aspiring politician, 
espoused the cause of the downtrodden "peons" and started 
a revolution in northern Mexico. This uprising spread so 
rapidly that by the next year the whole country was in 
turmoil, and Diaz was compelled to resign and flee from 
his native land. Madero was then elected president, but 
early in 1913 another revolution drove him from office. A 
few days later he met death at the hands of an assassin, 
and General Huerta, the leader of the revolutionists, pro- 
claimed himself president. 

The United States invades Mexico. — Early in this tu- 
mult Mexican forays across the border became frequent. 
Lonely ranches were raided, their cattle stolen, and if re- 
sistance was offered, the ranchers murdered. President 
Taft warned Mexico that this violation of American sov- 
ereignty would not be tolerated, but accomplished little. 
Like Taft, President Wilson refused to recognize Iluerta's 
Government on account of suspicion that the general had 
been the instigator of Madero's murder. Angered by this, 
Huerta retaliated by persistent insults and by refusing pro- 
tection to American citizens. Meanwhile, for defense of 
the border settlements large numbers of troops were sta- 
tioned all the way from Brownsville, Texas, to San Diego, 
California. 

In April, 1914, the Alcxican authorities at Tampico ar- 
rested several United States marines who had gone ashore 
on peaceful business. President Wilson immediately des- 
patched a fleet to Mexican waters and ordered the seizure of 
Vera Cruz. In July the "Constitutionalists," as the revolu- 
tionists headed by General Carranza called themselves. 



A SCHOOL-TEACHER IX THE WHITE HOUSE 605 

forced Huerta to resign and leave the country. Carranza 
became president and soon after the United States withdrew 
her troops. The following January, through the intercession 
of the so-called "A B C" powers — Argentina, Brazil and 
Chile — the Carranza Government was recognized by Presi- 
dent \\'ilson. During much of this time the rebel Villa was 
terrorizing all northern Mexico. Several engagements be- 
tween his followers and the government's forces occurred 
near the United States boundary, in the vicinity of El Paso, 
Texas, and Douglas, Arizona, and stray shots killed a num- 
ber of Americans. When Villa deliberately crossed the 
line and murdered several persons at Columbus, New Mex- 
ico, President Wilson abandoned his policy of "watchful 
waiting" and ordered an invasion of Mexico. General John 
J. Pershing with twelve thousand United States troops 
thereupon crossed the border in pursuit of the outlaws. 
Instead of giving cheerful cooperation, Carranza viewed 
the undertaking with such resentment that war looked im- 
minent. A hundred thousand of the National Guard were 
sent to the border to reinforce Pershing and to be ready for 
eventualities. The Mexican invasion, however, proved a 
failure, for Villa escaped into the mountains, so the United 
States decided to give Carranza a free hand in restraining 
the bandits. Pershing's force was withdrawn from Mexi- 
can soil and the National Guards were returned to their 
several states. 

Troubles in the West Indies. — Wlien Wilson became 
president, the Republic of San Domingo on the island of 
Haiti was in the midst of one of its periodical revolutions. 
Nearly ten years before (1905) President Roosevelt had 
been compelled to intervene to save it from occupation by 
France and Italy as a means of collecting debts owed by its 
government to their citizens. As a result, a treaty was en- 
tered into by which the United States was to supervise the 
collection of the Dominican taxes and see that the nation's 



606 



OUR COUXTRVS IIISTOKV 




llaiti, the Dominican Republic. Porto 
Rico and the Vira:in Islands 



obligations were met. Inasmuch as San Domingo is on the 
direct route to the Panama Canal and close to Porto Rico, 
President Wilson decided that American interests de- 
manded that its lawlessness be brought to an end. In 
October. 1914, marines were landed to insure the holding 

of a fair election, 
and again a few 
months later to pre- 
serve order. 

It was thought 
that this would 
serve as a warning 
to other similar rev- 
olutionists, that they 
might expect United 
States intervention, too, unless they observed law and order. 
The next summer, however, a faction of disgruntled Haiti- 
ans at the other end of the island, paying no heed to the 
experience of the Dominicans, rebelled and assassinated 
their president. By President Wilson's orders marines were 
landed there, also, and remained until a treaty had been ne- 
gotiated authorizing the United States to administer the 
nation's finances and police the country. 

The United States buys Virgin Islands from Denmark. 
— In 1917 Denmark sold to the United States for twenty- 
five million dollars her little West India colony, now known 
as the Virgin Islands, of which St. Thomas, St. Croix, 
and St. John are the largest. Although the population con- 
sisted of only about thirty thousand negroes, the location of 
the islands, forty miles east of Porto Rico, made them so 
desirable as a coaling station and naval base, in the event 
that either the Canal Zone or Porto Rico should be attacked, 
that twice before an efifort had been made to purchase 
them. A consistent advocate of the right of a people to 
determine its nationality, President Wilson insisted that be- 



A SCHOOL-TEACHKR IX THE WHITE HOUSI'. 607 



fore the transfer should become effective the question should 
be submitted to the islanders. This was done, and they voted 
overwhelmingly in favor of annexation. 

The momentous Serbian tragedy. — On June 28, 1914, 
a tragedy filled with momentous consequences to the entire 
world took place at Sarejevo, the capital of Bosnia. While 
on a visit there the Archduke Ferdinand, the heir to the 
Austrian throne, and his wife were assassinated. Because 
the murderer was a Slav, Austria claimed that the crime had 
been planned in Serbia, as a step toward the dismemberment 
of Austria-Hungary. As the Serbian Government was re- 
sponsible for keeping alive the Slavic aspiration of a 
"greater Serbia," Austria insisted she should answer for the 
crime. On July twenty-sixth she sent an ultimatum to the 
Belgrade Government and demanded its acceptance within 
forty-eight hours. So anxious was Serbia to avoid war that 
she overlooked its humiliating character and agreed com- 



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s ; 


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/" "*■•»,, 


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Slavic Peoples 
Italian 



The Cradle of tlic World War 



608 OUR COUNTRY'S IIISTORV 

pletely to all the stipulations except those which she re- 
garded as direct blows at her sovereignty. 

Francis Joseph, with the connivance of the kaiser, re- 
jected Serbia's reply, and on July twenty-eighth declared 
war. 

Germany declares war on Russia. — Russia notified 
Austria that the day her troops crossed the Danube she 
would mobilize in defense of Serbia. In a last effort for 
peace, the czar of Russia joined with Great Britain and 
France in an appeal to Emperor Francis Joseph to save 
Europe from the horrors of war by a peaceable adjustment 
of the Serbian difficulty. On the contrary, Germany urged 
that all the powers keep out of it, and allow Austria to 
wage an independent war against Serbia. Moreover, Ger- 
many announced that if this policy was not adopted she 
would support Austria. Italy, the third member of the 
Triple Alliance, assumed a neutral position, claiming she 
was not obligated to take up arms, since neither one of her 
allies had been attacked. Austrian armies crossed the Dan- 
ube and Russia began to mobilize. Germany, fearful lest 
Francis Joseph might weaken at the sight of Europe on fire 
as a result of his action, hastened to declare war on Russia, 
August first. Thus did the kaiser confidently hope to undo 
the Treaty of Bucharest and at last to realize his Pan-Ger- 
manic dream. 

Germany's declaration of war against Russia forced 
France to mobilize in defense of her own country as well 
as that of her ally. Thereupon the kaiser declared war 
against her, too. 

Germany invades Belgium to attack France. — The 
Germans planned to throw their whole strength against 
France and to overcome her resistance before Russia was 
able to complete her mobilization, and then to settle with 
Russia. Relying on the guarantee of the Powers to respect 
the neutrality of Belgium (1839), France had not fortified 



A SCHOOL-TEACHER IN THE WHITE HOUSE 609 

her Belgian boundary, and Germany knew it would be easy 
to make an invasion from this direction. To the kaiser's 
demand for permission to move the German army through 
his domain, King Albert bravely replied : "Belgium is a na- 
tion, not a road." Emperor William then gave the fateful 
command, and on August fourth his army began the in- 
vasion of Belgium. At midnight of the same day Great 
Britain declared war on Germany, and the "World War." 
to which Germany had been looking forward so eagerly, 
had begun. 

The United States tries to be neutral. — From her 
"splendid isolation" the United States looked on but not 
with indifiference. Thousands of native sons of each war- 
ring nation had become American citizens, and the ardor of 
their sympathies might easily lead to disastrous conse- 
quences. In his proclamation of i\ugust eighteenth Presi- 
dent W'ilson urged all Americans to "act and speak in the 
true spirit of neutrality, which is the spirit of impartiality 
and fairness and friendliness to all concerned." Although 
the majority of its citizens favored the cause of the Allies^ 
Great Britain, France, Russia and Belgium — the United 
States employed every means in its power to preserve abso- 
lute neutrality. Whenever one of the belligerents over- 
stepped the rules of war and violated the rights of Amer- 
ican citizens, President Wilson was quick to protest, and all 
the Powers except Germany and Austria promptly apolo- 
gized and made amends. 

Our country sells munitions and foodstuffs to the Al- 
lies. — The economic effect of the war was soon felt. 
Great Britain blockaded the German and Austrian coasts, 
and seized German vessels in all parts of the world. Ship- 
ping bound for Norway, Denmark and Holland was 
searched for contraband goods destined for Germany. In 
the United States dyes and chemicals, and other articles 
which came exclusively from Germany, disappeared from 



610 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

the market. Such supplies of them as were on hand rose 
to several times their normal price. The Allies immediately 
became enormous purchasers of American foodstuffs and 
munitions. Although the United States was strictly within 
its rights as a neutral in allowing such supplies to be fur- 
nished, Germany was greatly offended because her enemies 
could obtain easily what she could not secure because of 
their blockade. 

Divided opinion in our country over the sale of muni- 
tions. — In America a small group of "pacifists," who 
thought it wrong for the country to export munitions "for 
the murder of innocent people," tried to force Congress to 
abandon neutrality by establishing an embargo against their 
exportation. In this they were aided by German agents. 
Although German manufacturers had sold large quantities 
of munitions to both belligerents in the Russo-Japanese War 
and to the Dutch inhabitants of South Africa in their strug- 
gle with Great Britain a few years before, Germany now 
objected to such trade. Were she able to prevent the Allies 
from buying munitions in America, she believed that the war 
would soon come to an end. 

Neutral European countries protest against England's 
blockade system. — -On the other hand, the neutral coun- 
tries of Europe, especially Norway, Denmark and the Neth- 
erlands, protested vigorously against Great Britain's inter- 
ference with their commerce. As soon as the war started 
Germany began to buy from them openly great quantities 
of foodstuffs, far larger than was their total production. 
.\s a result their imports from the United States increased 
tremendously, and they soon became great depots for sup- 
plying Germany with American products. When Great 
Britain became aware that certain cargos en route to neu- 
trals eventually reached Germany, she began a vigorous 
search and seizure policy. The United States lodged pro- 
tests against this, since food for civilians is not contraband 



A SCHOOL-TEACHER IN THE WHITE HOUSE 611 

of war. Great Britain, however, justified her action on the 
ground that Germany had confiscated all foodstuffs in the 
Empire and was rationing her entire population from this 
common supply. Besides, she insisted, there was no way to 
make sure that foodstuffs imported into Germany would 
reach only the civilians. 

Germany announces her vicious submarine policy. — 
Maddened by her failure to induce the United States to 
forbid the sale of munitions to the Allies, and now by this 
interference with her food supply, Germany announced that 
with her submarines she would sink all vessels flying an 
enemy flag. She knew^ that England was even more de- 
pendent on food from overseas than she herself, and con- 
fidently expected to starve her into submission. This new 
policy was opposed to international law, which prescribes 
that ships laden with contral)and must be taken into port 
after capture, and confiscated by the courts. Such pro- 
cedure, however, would be impossible by submarines, espe- 
cially after the merchantmen began carrying mounted guns 
and naval detachments. Germany had the choice of not 
utilizing the full power she possessed in her submarines and 
keeping within the law of civilized w-arfare, or of employing 
them to the limit and violating the accepted principles of 
humanity. She chose the latter, and early in 1915 her sub- 
marines invaded the waters about the British Isles and be- 
gan the indiscriminate destruction of merchantmen belong- 
ing to the Allies. Citizens of neutral countries were w^arned 
not to travel on or ship goods by such vessels and to keep 
their own shipping out of the danger zone. The United 
States could not tolerate this, and President Wilson notified 
Germany that she would be held strictly accountable for any 
damage done by her submarines to United States citizens 
or their property. 

The sinking of the Lusitania. — On May first the Ger- 
man Embassy published notices in American newspapers, 



612 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



w 

n 

R. 
t1. 



ay 

t 

tips 

,19. 



•n 

Ilea 



ADVEHTIBEMENT. 



rir 

Hav 
47th 
lOih 
b» I 

/ 

H 
\ 



placed just below the advertisement of the Cunard Steam- 
ship Company, warning all persons against taking passage 
on vessels bound for the danger zone. A few days later the 
news was flashed over the cable that the steamship Lnsi- 

tania of that line, while 
en route to Liverpool, 
had been sunk by a tor- 
pedo fired by a subma- 
rine. Of the 1,150 per- 
sons drowned 112 were 
American citizens. The 
whole nation was 
aroused by this outrage, 
and a large part of the 
American press insisted 
on an immediate decla- 
ration of war. Loath to 
cause such suffering to 
the American people, 
the president ignored 
popular clamor and 
merely demanded that 
Germany disavow the 
act, refrain from such 
ruthlessness in the fu- 
ture, and make repara- 
tion for the losses sus- 
tained. While the Ger- 
man Government argued that Germany had acted within 
her rights, the Germans took such pride in the outrage that 
medals were actually struck to commemorate the deed. 
However, for a time the submarines were more careful. 

Ruthless submarine warfare. — On February 1, 1917, 
after only twenty- four hours' notice, Germany began the 
indiscriminate sinking, without warning, of vessels of what- 



NOTICE! 

TRAVELLERS intending to 
embark on the Atlantic voyage 
are reminded that a state of 
war exists between Germany 
and her alh'es and Great Britain 
and her allies; that the zone of 
war includes the waters adja- 
cent to the British Isles; that, 
in accordance with formal no- 
tice given by the Imperial Ger- 
man Government, vessels fly- 
ing the flag of Great Britain, or 
of any of her allies, are liable to 
destruction in those waters and 
that travellers sailing in the war 
zone on ships of Great Britain 
or her allies do so at their ovm 
risk. 

IMPERIAL GERMAN EMBASSY 

WASHIKOTON. D. C, APRIL. 22. 1615. 



BAMKBPPTOY NOTICES. 







Facsimile of the Advertise- 
ment Published in the Nezv 
York Times by the Impe- 
rial German Embassy 



A SCHOOL-TEACHER IN THE WHITE HOUSE 613 

soever flag engaged in commerce with her enemies, and 
wherever found. By this new poHcy she expected to de- 
stroy so much of the world's shipping that within four 
months the British people, threatened with starvation, would 
force their government to yield. So numerous were her 
submarines that in addition to infesting the waters sur- 
rounding the British Isles they were able to establisli danger 
zones around the French coast and in the Mediterranean. 
In a single month they sank ships with a total carrying 
capacity of six hundred thousand tons, enough merchandise 
to fill five hundred trains of fifty freight cars of the largest 
size. In reply to a protest from the United States Germany 
had the insolence to agree to allow her to send one vessel a 
week to England under stipulated conditions. 

The German ambassador at Washington plots against 
our country. — While Germany was maintaining the out- 
ward evidences of peace, the German ambassador at Wash- 
ington took advantage of the opportunity to plot with the 
Mexican Government for Mexico to make war on the 
United States, should this country be drawn into the 
European conflict. As its reward Mexico was to receive 
back the territory ceded to the United States by the Treaty 
of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Truly could President Wilson sa)/ 
the sparks of the great conflagration were flying danger- 
ously near and threatening to overwhelm the American 
people in the world's holocaust, regardless of all the 
government could do to prevent it. 

Woodrow Wilson re-elected in 1916. — As was to be ex- 
pected the war had developed strongly divergent opinions 
and President Wilson's policy in connection with it had 
offended many of the extremists. His "watchful waiting" 
and "note writing" were denounced as weak methods, which 
had accomplished nothing calculated to insure safety of 
life and property to citizens on the high seas. German- 
Americans accused him of sympathizing with the Allies 



614 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



and held him responsible for the failure of Congress to stop 
the export of munitions. 

When the Democratic National Convention met in 1916 
President Wilson was renominated, and the platform made 
an appeal for his reelection on the ground that he had 
kept the country out of war. The Republicans selected 




■ Hughes 
□ Wilsor 



Distribution of Electoral Votes in the Election of 1916 



Charles E. Hughes, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, 
to head their ticket. The Progressive party put forward ex- 
President Roosevelt, and when Mr. Roosevelt declined the 
nomination they recommended to their followers the sup- 
port of Plughes. The Republicans attacked the Democrats 
for their failure to uphold the rights of American citizens. 
They condemned vigorously the subserviency displayed by 
Congress in enacting a law giving unionized railroad em- 
ployees an eight-hour day. in order to ward ofif a threatened 
nation-wide strike. 

So close was the election, that at first it was believed 
Hughes had won, but when the complete returns were in 
Wilson had a majority of twenty-three electoral votes. The 



A SCHOOL-TEACHER IN THE WHITE HOUSE 615 

president was evidently more popular than his party, for 
while he had received 2,000,000 more votes than in 1912, 
the Democrats had all but lost control of the House of Rep- 
resentatives. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. Was there anj' similaritj' between the condition of the Repub- 

lican party in the election in 1912 and that of the Democratic 
party in the election of 1860? Can you explain why the So- 
cialist party has grown so rapidly since 1900? 

2. Show that Mr. Wilson, as governor of New Jersey and as 

president of the United States, introduced man}' innovations 
and broke many precedents. Explain some of the important 
laws passed during his first administration. 

.1. President Diaz ruled Mexico about thirtj^-five years, during 
which time that country enjoA^ed peace, order and prosperitj'. 
Explain whj^ this period failed to prepare the Alexican people 
for self-government. From j"our reading, study and observa- 
tion, what do you conclude is the great trouble with Mexico 
to-day? What remedy would you offer for this trouble? 

4. Did Germany really want Serbia to submit to the terms of the 
ultimatum that Austria sent her after the assassination of the 
Austrian crown prince ? Give evidence to show that Germany 
and Austria had deliberately decided upon war before Serbia 
replied to this ultimatum. Why was Germany so bent upon 
crushing Serbia? 

.^ How were Russia, France. Belgium and Great Britain drawn 
into the war? 

(i. l-'xplain what is involved in a true spirit of neutraHty. If the 
United States had refused the sale of munitions to the Allies 
before she entered tlie war, would not that have helped Ger- 
man}' and been a violation of neutralitj'? 

7. Could the United States have kept out of the war and main- 
tained her self-respect as a sovereign nation? Explain j'our 
answer. 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTIIKR STUDV 

1. Woodrow Wilson, the man and his work. 

2. The resemblance between haciendas and medieval manors. 

3. The Potsdam Conference of July 5, 1914. 

REFERENCE 

McKinley's Collected Materials for the Study of the War. 



CHAPTER XLIV 
EUROPE IN CONFLAGRATION 

The victory of the Marne. — On August 2, 1914, Ger- 
many delivered her ultimatum to Belgium and a few days 
later her huge guns began to batter the fortifications of 
Liege. Although these had been made as strong as man 
could devise and were thought impregnable, by August fif- 
teenth they had been pounded to pieces by the German 
artillery, and Liege was forced to surrender. A few days 
later the government of King Albert was in flight, and Brus- 
sels, his capital city, was in the hands of the invaders. 

On and on swept the gray-green hosts, pressing farther 
and farther back the little Belgian army, with the French 
and British troops which had been rushed to its aid, until 
on September fifth they reached the Marne River, only 
forty miles distant from Paris. For two days the battle 
raged, with one terrific blow following another until, ex- 
hausted by their titanic efforts to break through Marshal 
Joffre's lines, the German horde fell back in retreat. An 
extensive system of trenches and dugouts was excavated, 
forming a semi-subterranean camp in which they settled 
down for the winter. Although Germany failed to realize 
her plan of taking Paris and overwhelming the French, she 
had brought practically all of Belgium under her control, as 
well as nearly one-tenth of the richest mining and agricul- 
tural districts of France. 

Von Hindenburg's eastern drive. — Meanwhile Russia 
had surprised Germany by her rapid mobilization, and al- 
ready the big guns were roaring in the East. Two great 
armies moved west and crossed the boundary — one into 
East Prussia, the other into Austria. General von Hinden- 
burg's army, reinforced by troops hurried from the western 

616 



EUROPE L\ COXFLAGKATIOX 



6i; 




Where the Armies Fought in the West 

front, met the northern invasion and quickly hurled the 
Russians back with great slaughter. Overwhelmed in the 
south by the Russian numbers, Austria was forced to sur- 
render her strongly fortified fortresses at Lemberg (August 
thirty-first). As soon as East Prussia was cleared of the in- 
vaders, von Hindenburg took the offensive and advanced 
into Poland. By October his army was within seven miles of 
\\'arsaw. Here he was so badly defeated by Grand Duke 



618 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

Nicholas with a fresh Russian army that he was unable for 
some time to go to the aid of the hard-pressed Austrians. 
But the Russians in their impetuousness had pushed forward 
too far into Austria, considering the weakness of their sup- 
l)ly lines, and eventually, in Alay, 1915, were nearly annihi- 
lated by the army commanded by General von Mackensen. 
The year 1914 closed with the two belligerents in a defensive 
deadlock along the whole eastern front, which was longer 
than the distance from New York to Chicago. 

The campaign of 1915. — Great Britain and France 
spent the winter of 1914-15 working with feverish haste 
to increase their supplies and munitions by every possible 
means. Day and night the great foundries and arsenals were 
alive with men, women and children, struggling with almost 
superhuman efforts to meet the needs of the enormous 
armies Great Britain was mustering in every part of her 
empire. With the aid of importations from the United 
States, the Allies were at last almost as well supplied as the 
enemy. 

The campaign of 1915 opened with a powerful drive for 
Calais on the English Channel. Germany greatly desired 
this city in order to make it a base from which to attack the 
lines of communication between England and France. Her 
effort was unsuccessful, however, as well as an attempt to 
take Ypres, where she introduced poison gas as a weapon 
of war. In the west the lines now stretched from the North 
Sea to Switzerland, a distance nearly equal to that from 
New Orleans to jMemphis. Although the Allies made three 
desperate attempts to break through them at widely sepa- 
rated points, the end of the year saw little change on the 
western front since spring. The opposing armies remained 
deadlocked in their trenches, frequently so near to each 
other that the sound of voices and singing was wafted across 
the desolate shell-torn "no man's land" between them. 

On the eastern front 1915 was a disastrous year for the 
Russians. In the sprin.Q' the Central Empires sent large 



EUROPE IN CONFLAGRATION 



619 




A Portion of the Trench Systerhs on the Western Front as 

Seen from a Scout Plane 

Notice "Xo Man's Land" between the two sj'stenis 



armies to drive them out of Austria. They were forced to 
evacuate Lemberg. and then were badly beaten in the battle 
of Gorlice because of lack of ammunition. Before the Grand 
Duke Nicholas finally got his army back into Russia hun- 
dreds of thousands had been killed or taken prisoners. 



620 OUR COUXTRVS HISTORY 

In late summer the Germans captured Warsaw, and a 
little later far to the north were threatening Riga, the most 
important city between them and Petrograd. Fearful lest 
the city might fall into their hands, the czar and his govern- 
ment began hasty preparations for moving to Moscow, 
Russia's ancient capital, situated far in the interior. Well 
might the Allies be gloomy, with the realization that Russia, 
from whom they had hoped so much, was so badly demoral- 
ized, and that Germany would be free to release for service 
on the western front a large part of her eastern forces. 

The war in the East. — In November, 1914, the Central 
Powers gained an ally in Turkey. This extended the battle 
lines to the eastern Mediterranean and gave the Allies an 
excuse for undertaking the capture of Constantinople. On 
December second the Austrians occupied Belgrade, the cap- 
ital of Serbia, but two weeks later were driven back across 
the Danube. Meanwhile the Allies had assembled a large 
fleet in the eastern Mediterranean with a view of forcing 
the Dardanelles and taking Constantinople. Russia needed 
munitions. They had only two routes by which to.ship sup- 
plies to her, and both were most unreliable. The one by way 
of the Arctic Ocean to Archangel, whence a single track rail- 
way led to Petrograd, seven hundred miles to the south, was 
icebound except during a few months in summer. The other 
was by a ten-thousand-mile ocean voyage to Vladivostok, 
whence the eastern front, six thousand miles distant, could 
be reached via the Trans-Siberian Railway. Once in control 
of Constantinople, the Allies could easily supply Russia with 
munitions by way of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and 
she, in return, grain to feed their armies. 

The forts at the entrance to the Dardanelles were taken, 
and a British and French army was landed on the narrow 
precipitous Gallipoli peninsula with the intention of reducing 
the defenses by a land assault. For a year the struggle 
went on by land and sea, but at last in January, 1916, 



EUROPE IN CONFLAGRATION 



621 



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622 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

the undertaking was abandoned. This disastrous expedition 
occasioned great loss of prestige for the AlHes in the Near 
East, and was partly responsible for Bulgaria's allying her- 
self with the Central Powers (Ov^tober, 1915), in expecta- 
tion of winning back the territory lost in the Second Balkan 
War several years before. 

In the autumn Austria, with the aid of German troops, 
set out to subjugate Serbia and thus open a road to Con- 
stantinople, by which men and supplies might be sent the 
Turks, who were clamoring loudly for aid. Serbia could 
get no assistance from the Allies, as all their troops in the 
Near East were needed to combat the Bulgars along the 
Greco-Bulgarian border. As a result; by December the 
whole country was in the hands of the Central Powers ex- 
cept a small strip along the Montenegrin frontier and an- 
other in the extreme south. 

Italy abandons neutrality. — Although Italy had be- 
longed to the Triple Alliance, far-sighted statesmen never 
expected to see her fighting on the side of the Central Em- 
pires in a European war. As we have learned, for years 
she had claimed certain Austrian territory contiguous to 
Trent and Trieste which was peopled by those of Italian 
stock. This "Italia Irredenta" question occasioned a situa- 
tion which precluded any real sympathy between Italy and 
Austria. Besides, their interests in the Adriatic were so 
opposed that for years any effort on Austria's part to 
strengthen her naval base at Pola wotild lead to correspond- 
ing activity on the part of Italy, in order to preserve the 
balance of power. As the war progressed and it became 
recognized as a struggle between democracy and autocracy, 
the liberty-loving Italians naturally sympathized with the 
Allies. By the end of the first year popular sentiment in 
Italy for the allied cause was too strong to be ignored, and 
on May 24. 1915. the country entered the conflict by declar- 
ing war on Austria-Hungary. This was followed later in 



EUROPE IX CONFLAGRATIOX 



623 



the year by a declaration against Turkey, which extended 
the battle front over three hundred miles. From this time 
opposing armies were stretched along a line with length 
sufficient to reach from New Orleans to Los Angeles. 

The battle of Verdun. — The giant wa-estling match at 
X'erdun is tl;e chief feature of the 1916 campaign. This 
great French fortress blocked the main road leading from 
central Germany to Paris and prevented an invasion from 
that direction. The Germans determined on its capture, and 
no battle in history is to be compared with this one, which 
raged almost without cessation from February twenty- 
second to the end of September. So confident of success 




A Tank Going into Action 
Notice how isolated the eountry has become 



were they that the crown prince himself took active com- 
mand, that the glory of the crowning achievement of the 
war might be his. The Allies contested so fiercely every inch 
of ground that positions of advantage were taken and lost 
several times in one day. When at last the Germans 
abandoned the effort, it had cost the lives of more than two 
hundred thousand brave soldiers to advance a bare four 
miles and they were still three miles from their goal. Never, 
after Verdun, did the German soldiers evince the same con- 



624 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

fidence in the ultimate supremacy of "Kultur" as before, 
and Verdun may rightly be considered the turning point 
of the war. 

Meanwhile, far to the north the Allies had started a drive 
along the Somme, which lasted from July till December. It 
was a monster artillery duel. During much of the time, 
two hundred and fifty thousand shells a day were being 
hurled from their guns against the German lines along a 
front of only about twenty-five miles. Slowly but surely 
the German army was being forced back, leaving a waste 
dotted with heaps of blackened ruins to mark the site of 
once prosperous French towns and villages. 

The campaign in the East. — During the winter of 1915- 
1916 Russia had gathered herself together once more and 
by summer had thrown across the Austrian border another 
formidable army. Little opposition was met at first, for so 
sure were the Central Powers that Russia was out of the 
fighting, they had withdrawn the larger part of their troops 
from the eastern front. Austria had sent many of hers 
south to defend the passes through the Alps against the 
Italians, who were making efforts to break through so as 
to attack Trent and Trieste. Before cold weather set in 
the czar's soldiers were again threatening to take Lemberg. 
Meanwhile Roumania had cast her lot with the Allies and 
invaded the Austrian province lying to the west. Like the 
Russians the year before, her troops advanced too fast and 
drove a narrow wedge so deeply into Austria that they were 
caught between a powerful German army on the north and 
the Bulgars on the south, just as if by a pair of giant pincers. 
When the campaign ended, the Central Powers had "pinched 
ofif" half of Roumania clear to the Black Sea, including 
Bucharest, the capital. 

After his crushing defeat in 1915 the Grand Duke Nich- 
olas was relieved of his command by the czar himself and 
placed in charge of operations in the Caucasus, the region 



EUROPE IN CONFLAGRATION 



625 



about the eastern end of the Black Sea. Here he was in- 
flicting some crushing blows on the Turks. He had actually- 
penetrated the mountain fastnesses of Armenia and cap- 
tured Trebizond and other important places. In Syria, too, 
the sultan's soldiers were meeting with severe reverses. 
Their effort to cross the desert and take the Suez Canal had 













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Scene of the Asiatic Campaign 



failed dismally, for Great Britain threw a large army into 
northeastern Egypt to protect her lines of communication 
with India and Australia. 

The Russian revolution. — When the Russian people 
realized that much of the appalling losses their armies had 
sustained was due to the inefficiency of the government, 
there was bitter discontent. Later it was learned that many 
of the czar's most trusted officials were German sympathiz- 
ers, either because of ancestry or bribery. These traitors 
deliberately delayed the sending of ammunition to the hard- 



626 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

pressed armies, and prevented any cooperation with the 
Roumanians when they began their invasion of Austria. 
Enraged by the czar's faikire to oust them from office, on 
March 15, 1917, the army and navy revoked against the 
government. The czar was forced to abdicate, and together 
with the whole royal family was sent to Siberia, there to 
meet death at the hands of their guards. 

A provisional government was set up with the Socialist 
Kerensky at its head. After driving the Austrians back and 
threatening to clear Poland of German troops this govern- 
ment suddenly collapsed, and all Russia fell into a state of 




Russian Soldiers that have Surrendered to llie Germans 
in Preference to Fighting 

anarchy. Most of the soldiers and sailors were Socialists 
and Socialism is opposed to war. Kerensky and the more 
far-sighted Socialists knew that a defeat of the Allies would 
mean a crushing of Socialism by the kaiser, but the rank 
and file of their followers could not see that far ahead. 
They had been taught that war is wrong, so they not only 
refused to fight, but actually threw away their arms and 
fell back to open the way for the advancing Germans. 

Relieved of any further resistance from the Russians, the 
Central Powers began transferring their armies to the West 
for another drive toward Paris, and to the Italian front. 
The immediate result was that later in 1917 the Italians, 
now close to Trieste, were forced back through the Alps to 
the Piave River and only by a most heroic stand were able 
to save Venice from capture. 



EUROPE IN CONFLAGRATION 



627 



Germany violates the rules of warfare, — With the prog- 
ress of civilization a more humane spirit has entered into 
the conduct of war. Civilized nations by treaties have agreed 
upon definite rtiles of warfare, designed to free it of as 
much sufifering as possible. These rules guarantee immu- 
nity from attack to non-combatants or persons not connected 
with the fighting. Hospitals, together with the sick and 
wounded and their attendants, must not be molested. Cer- 
tain inhuman practises, which were once common, such as 
torturing prisoners, poisoning wells, and pillaging or de- 
stroying captured private property, are prohibited. 

Although Germany had subscribed to all these rules, as 
the war proceeded 
and her situation be- 
came more perilous, 
she disregarded 
them whenever it 
furthered her inter- 
ests to do so. When 
the Pope and neu- 
tral governments re- 
monstrated with the 
kaiser for the sav- 
agery practised by 
his soldiers, he in- 
sisted that by these 
ruthless methods the 
war would be more 
([uickly brought to 
an end. 

That the indus- 
tries of France and 

Belgium might be Photo from Undenvood & Undenvood 

so completely para- A Battle in the Air on the Western Front 

1 ) .1 J. r One of the three (lerman planes shot 

lyzed that for years down is shown failing 




628 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

after hostilities ended they would be unable to compete seri- 
ously with Germany in foreign markets, their mines were 
flooded and their mills and factories stripped of essential ma- 
chinery. Thousands of farms were devastated, orchards cut 
down, and buildings burned. Non-combatants were herded 
in gangs and deported to Germany, that their labor might 
help to relieve the shortage occasioned by the war. Cities 




Ruins of a Hospital Destroyed by a German Bomb 

were compelled to buy immunity from devastation by pay- 
ing large sums of money, and the most trivial transgression 
of the military regulations by their inhabitants was fol- 
lowed by the imposition of heavy fines. Not only were civil- 
ians robbed of their small food supplies, but even much 
of that contributed by generous citizens of other countries 
was appropriated. Not content with the sinking of vessels 
without warning, their flying machines dropped deadly 
bombs on towns and villages far removed from the front, 
and singled out for attack hospitals. In England thousands 
of women and children were killed by these raids, the 



i 



EUROPE IN CONFLAGRATION 629 

only object of which was to intimidate the people into de- 
manding peace. 

Because of this return to the savagery of the barbarians 
from whom she sprang, by the end of 1916 Germany had 
forfeited the respect of every civilized nation, and hence- 
forth the war became a crusade to rid the world of her mili- 
tarism. For this reason, hard pressed as they were, the 
Allies refused Germany's proffer of peace, although it 
promised the evacuation of Belgium and France. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. Germany promised to restore Belgium, and to pay an indemnity 

at the end of the war, if Belgium would permit the Germans 
to pass through that country to France. Give various reasons 
why King Albert refused to grant this permission. If he had, 
what would have been the effect on the course of the war? 

2. The battle of the Marne will go down in history as one of the 

decisive battles of the world. Explain why. Why was the 
French territory overrun by the Germans so important? 
What was the stategic value of Calais? 

3. Give some estimate of the importance of Russia's part in the 

early history of the war. Why did she fail? 

4. Why was Constantinople important? Describe the Gallipoli ex- 

pedition. 

5. Although Italy had been a member of the Triple Alliance for 

years, she entered the war on the side of the Allies. Why? 

6. What was the relation between the ruling houses of Germany 

and Russia at the outbreak of the war ? Enumerate the causes 
of the Russian Revolution. 

7. Did the inhuman practises of the Germans help to defeat them? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHKR STUDY 

1. King Albert of Belgium. 

2. The Italia Irredenta, the weak spot in tlie Triple Alliance. 

REFERKXCES 

1. McKinley's Collected Materials for the Study of the War. 

2. Gordy's The Causes and Meaning of the Great War. 

3. Benezet's The World War and What Was Behind If. 



CHAPTER XLV 
THE WAR FOR DEMOCRACY 

Woodrozv Wilson, President, igi'j-1^21 

The United States declares war. — Woodrow Wilson 
had been reelected because "he kept us out of war," but 
over a month before his inauguration the United States 
broke off diplomatic relations with Germany. Incensed by 
her avowal of an intention to sink without warning all ves- 
sels entering certain prescribed danger zones, President 
Wilson dismissed the German ambassador and recalled the 
United States embassy from Berlin. It became evident that 
whether the United States would enter the war or not rested 
in the hands of the Imperial German Government. 

On April 2, 1917, Congress met in special session and 
listened to an address by the president in which he re- 
viewed Germany's acts of aggression and continual viola- 
tion of pledges, and asked a declaration that a state of war 
existed. Four days later, by an overwhelming vote. Con- 
gress adopted a resolution reciting that "the Imperial Ger- 
man Government has committed re])eated acts of war 
against the Government and the people of the United 
States,"' and formally declaring "the state of war between 
the United States and the Imperial German Government 
which has thus been thrust upon the United States." 

Aw his address to Congress President Wilson made it 
plain that the United States was not drawn into the war 
because of any quarrel with the German people. He said : 
"We have no feeling toward them but one of sympathy and 
friendship. It was not upon their impulse that their govern- 
ment acted in entering this war. ... It was a war deter- 
mined upon as wars used to be determined upon in the old, 

630 



THE WAR FOR DEMOCRACY 



631 



unhappy days when peojjles were nowhere consuked by 
their rules. ... In such a government, following such 
methods, we can never have a friend." 

America's unpreparedness. — Always a peace-loving na- 
tion, the United States had not imitated the European 
powers by keeping a large standing army or requiring com- 






^'^^^x^:^-^: 

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Photo from Undenvood »S; Undenvood 



President Wilson Reading His Famous War 
Message, April 2, 1917 

pulsory military service. At first it was believed at home, 
as well as in Germany, that the part of the United States 
in the war would be to furnish money, food, clothing and 
nuuiitions. The transportation of troops in large numbers 
three thousand miles by water did not seem feasible. Still, 
great training camps were established and to them were 
sent the several state guards. A nation-wide campaign for 
recruits was started and resulted in nearly a million young 
men volunteering for service in the army and navy. 

Mobilizing the nation's man power. — Soon, however, 
it became evident that if the war were to be won, the United 



632 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



States would have to furnish men as well as supplies, and 
Congress was confronted with the question of whether the 
government should rely on volunteers or resort to conscrip- ' 
tion. Many denounced enforced service as un-American 

and recalled the draft 



NAVY! 

. -. s. . . ..=,-.. YOU! 

DO IT NOW! 



riots of the War of Se- 
cession. At last, profit- 
ing by the experience 
of Great Britain, which 
had been forced to 
adopt conscription 
after her long-standing 
volunteer system had 
failed to supply enough 
men, Congress enacted 
the Selective Draft 
Law. This law re- 
quired all men between 
the ages of twenty-one 
and thirty-one to regis- 
ter for service. Later 
the age limits were 
amended to include all 
men between eighteen 
and forty-five. From 
these registrants the order in which the nation's man power 
should be placed in the army was determined by drawing 
numbers at Washington. In order not to interfere with 
industries essential to winning the war, or to cause undue 
privation, the draft law provided deferred classification, 
equivalent to exemption, for those engaged in such labor or 
with families absolutely dependent on them. 

On September second the first half million "conscripts" 
were received at the cantonments which had been established 
throughout the country for the purpose of training them in 




I WANT YOU 



A Government Poster Calling 
for Volunteers 



THE WAR FOR DEMOCRACY 



633 



the science of war. These camps were really well-built 
cities, consisting of wooden barracks, modern hospitals, 
enormous warehouses, repair shops of all kinds, well- 
equipped libraries and numerous recreation halls. Although 
constructed in a few weeks, they were provided with paved 
streets, sewage and water systems, electric lights, telephone 
service and fire and police protection. The smallest canton- 
ments accommodated thirty thousand soldiers, while in some 
of the largest eighty thousand could be cared for comfortably. 



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Plioto by Underwood & Underwood 

A Bird's-eye View of a Cantonment 



Raising the money. — Eleven days alter the declaration 
of war, Congress appropriated $7,000,000,000 for its prose- 
cution — more than twice the entire cost of the War of Seces- 
sion. By the end of two years, additional appropriations had 
almost tripled that sum, and the government was spending 
more in a day than its entire expenses amounted to during 
Washington's administrations. To raise this enormous 
amount of money the taxes on incomes were increased 
greatly, postage rates were raised, new taxes were levied 
on express and freight receipts, railway, steamship and 
theater tickets, telegrams, long-distance telephone calls, and 
many other items. An issue of "Liberty Bonds" to the 



634 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



amount of $2,000,000,000 was placed on sale in June and 
oversubscribed by more than fifty per cent. Three other 
"Liberty Loans" followed, and a final "Victory Loan" in 
1919. 

Government control of railroads. — From the start the 
transportation problem was a difficult one. Although the 
railways pooled their interests in an effort to handle expedi- 
tiously the enormous movement of men and supplies, by 
autumn traffic had become so congested that it was evident 
they were unequal to the task under private control. There- 
fore, in December, President Wilson issued a proclamation 
placing them under government management, and appointed 
William G. McAdoo, Secretary of the Treasury, as director- 
general. A few months later Congress made provision for 
the compensation of their owners and agreed that the roads 
should be returned within twenty-one months after the con- 
clusion of peace. As the exigencies of war made it neces- 
sary, telegraph and telephone lines, the express companies, 
and lastly the cables, were taken over by the government 
under presidential proclamation. 

A "bridge of ships" across the Atlantic. — In order to 
win the war it became imperative to build a "bridge of 
boats" across the Atlantic ! "Ships ! Ships ! Give us 

more ships, or we 
lose the war" be- 
came the slogan of 
the nation, for with 
her submarines Ger- 
many was making 
big dents in the 
world's available 
shipping. A "Ship- 
,9.4 ,9,5 ,9,0 ,9,7 .9,8 pj,-,g Board" was 

.— New Tonnage ConMruCed. created, CmpOWCrcd 

Tonnage Dcilroyeo ^ 

The War and the World's Shipping to buy and build 









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THE WAR FOR DEMOCRACY 635 

ships in unlimited numbers. Many American vessels plying 
between the United States and South America, Asia and 
Australia, and every steamship which could be spared from 
the coast trade or the Great Lakes, were taken from their 
regular runs and diverted to transporting troops and sup- 
plies across the Atlantic. Besides, the interned German 
merchantmen, which had sought safety in American ports 
when the war broke out, were confiscated, and even boats 
belonging to neutral countries, especially Holland, were 
forcibly pressed into service. 

Great shipyards were established along the coast, and 
from them, before long, several vessels of wood, steel or 
concrete were being launched each day. Before the war 
ended they had become so efficient that a large wooden 
steamship could be built and completely equipped for sea 
in less than forty days. As a result of the shipbuilding ac- 
tivity in the United States and Great Britain, by the summer 
of 1918 more new tonnage was being constructed than the 
Germans were able to destroy, and fear that the Allies might 
be starved into submission was at an end. 

Conservation of food, fuel and labor. — For many years 
Great Britain had not produced enough foodstuffs to feed 
her own people, and now due to the war France and Italy, 
too, were dependent on importations from overseas. The 
shortage was greatly aggravated by the large number of 
cargoes which were being sunk by German submarines. So 
scanty had become the available stocks of food, fuel and 
other necessities that drastic regulations were enacted to 
prevent wealthy persons from hoarding supplies, and to 
equalize the suffering and keep it as low as possible. 

In order that there might be sufficient food to meet the 
needs of the soldiers in camp and at the front, as well as 
the civilians at home, and a generous surplus for the na- 
tion's allies, Congress enacted a drastic measure for food 
and fuel conservation (August 10, 1917). Herbert Hoover, 



636 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



an American citizen who had become famous as director of 
the Belgian relief work started soon after the beginning of 
hostilities, was made food controller. As a means of en- 
couraging wheat raising, the government guaranteed the 
farmers a minimum price for their crop a season in ad- 
vance. Regulations prescribing the amount of wheat, meat 
and sugar to be allowed each person were proclaimed by the 
president. To save fuel for vessels in trans-Atlantic service 
and for essential industries, stores, office buildings, and 
concerns not engaged in war-work were forced to submit 
to heatless days, and were cut off from electric lights on 
certain nights of the week. 

The government commandeered many large industrial 
plants producing articles essential for winning the war, in 
order to increase the output and avoid labor difficulties. To 

meet the shortage of la- 
bor in the essential in- 
dustries men engaged in 
unnecessary occupations 
or whose places could be 
filled by women were 
compelled to get into 
useful work. Without 
the aid of this second 
line of defense — "the 
men who remained to 
till the fields and man 
the factories" — the War 
for Democracy would 
not have been so speed- 
ily won. 

General Pershing in 

command. — General 

John J. Pershing was 

John J. Pcrshin.'; chosen to command the 




THE WAR FOR DEMOCRACY 637 

American Expeditionary Forces to be sent to France, and 
in June, 1917, he left with his staff for Europe. Large 
camps were made ready in different parts of France for 
finishing the training of the American forces before send- 
ing them to the front. In the French port placed at the dis- 
posal of the United States the engineers built huge docks 
where scores of vessels daily unloaded their cargoes, and 
not far distant miles of warehouses were hastily constructed 
to store them. To connect this supply depot with the Amer- 
ican camps a double-track railway as long as the distance 
from Washington to Atlanta was constructed, and the larg- 
est freight yards in the world were built. The United 
States even installed her own telegraph and telephone lines 
and these alone required twelve thousand operators. 

June twenty-sixth the first American regiment landed in 
France, exciting much contemptuous comment from the 
German press. Before the next July, however, soldiers 
were leaving American ports at the raie of ten thousand a 
day, and of the two million men under arms nearly half 
were "over there." 

The surrender of Russia. — During the fall and winter 
of 1917, while the Allies on the western front "marked 
time" in their trenches, awaiting the arrival of Americans 
in sufficient numbers to take from the Germans their mili- 
tary superiority, Russia became so demoralized that troops 
had to be sent there. Disappointed in her efforts to force 
the Kerensky Government into making a separate peace, 
Germany despatched a strong land and naval expedition to 
the Gulf of Finland (September). Riga offered little resist- 
ance, and soon after a decisive naval victory opened the way 
to Petrograd. In the midst of the excitement which fol- 
lowed, the "Soviet," a secret organization of Socialist work- 
ing men and soldiers, seized the government (November). 
For weeks a reign of terror existed throughout much of 
Russia and thousands of persons in Petrograd and Moscow 



638 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

were killed. Lenine and Trotsky, the leaders of the Bolshe- 
viki Government which the Soviet set up. announced their 
intention of making peace with the Central Empires, and 
then confiscating all the land in Russia and parceling it out 
to the common people. A traitor to his country, Lenine the 
following March signed a humiliating treaty dictated by 
Germany, agreeing to surrender Poland and the provinces 
along the Baltic Sea. Still German rapacity was unsatisfied 
and by the summer of 1918 her armies had overrun much 
of the Ukraine, the region lying between Poland and the 
Black Sea. 

The last German drive. — Although by the end of 1917 
German armies were occupying vast areas of the enemy's 
territory, the kaiser and his war lords knew that if the 
war were to be won the Allies must be beaten quickly on 
the western front. The submarine campaign had failed to 
starve them into submission, and was becoming constantly 
less effective, due to the increased activity of their destroy- 
ers. No longer did the German leaders ridicule America's 
efforts, for they had seen with alarm that not only could 
she transport huge armies across the Atlantic, but that she 
was actually pouring troops into France so fast that in time 
Germany would be beaten by sheer numbers. 

After having spent the winter in their trenches, on March 
21, 1918, the Germans launched an ofifensive along a front 
extending fifty miles southward from Ypres. By this drive 
General von Hindenburg jM-omised to be in Paris by April 
first. Such an onslaught the world had never before wit- 
nessed. During the first day the Germans hurled more shells 
than they had fired in the whole Franco-Prussian War. 
The British, who held that sector of the Allied line, were 
not able to endure such an onslaught and were forced to 
abandon their trenches. Fighting desperately and inflicting 
terrific losses on the enemy, they were slowly pushed back. 
Ten days later, when General LudendorfT was compelled to 



THE WAR FOR DEMOCRACY 



639 



halt the drive so as to give his men rest, the British had 
retreated twenty-five miles. 

Marshal Foch assumes supreme command. ^ — -While 
Ludendorff's men rested, the Allies, thoroughly alarmed 
by their desperate situation, abandoned their national 
jealousies and, adopting the plan of the enemy, placed 
all the forces operating on the western front under one 




Photo from UndenvooJ & Underwood 

Part of the Trench System on the Western Front 



supreme command. For this important position by unani- 
mous consent they chose the eminent French strategist, 
Marshal Ferdinand Foch. As a result of this centralization 
of authority, it became possible to coordinate Allied efforts. 



640 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



Paris again in danger. — After a month's delay, Luden- 
dorfif struck in Flanders and threatened to sweep through 
to that long-coveted goal — the English Channel. Repelled 
again and again by General Haig's solid wall of British 
soldiers, aided by strong French reinforcements, the Ger- 
mans finally gave up the attempt to break through, and 
rested a second time. When Ludendorf¥ renewed his drive, 
the last of May, the French forces blocking the roads to 
Paris received the blow. Once more the Allies were obliged 



t'^ttit - 








1 


L^H^ 








1^^ 


HhHI 


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^9h 


H^BBT^. ^ 


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A Bridge Destroyed by the Allies m an Effort to Delay 
the German Advance 



to yield ground, and the Germans advanced until they 
reached some of the positions on the Marne which they had 
held nearly four years before. With the super guns recently 
brought into service, they actually hurled shells into Paris. 
Although to reach this point Ludendorff had sacrificed five 
hundred thousand men and his reserves were near ex- 
haustion, he fought his way across the Marne. It was a dark 
hour, indeed, for the Allies, as the French capital seemed 
(loomed. 

With the aid of Pershing's soldiers Foch launches a 
counter-blow. — On March twenty-eighth General Persh- 
ing had placed five divisions of American forces at the dis- 
posal of Marshal Foch to aid him in hol(lin<2;- back the victo- 



THE WAR FOR DEMOCRACY 



641 



rious German hordes. By their stubborn resistance at Can- 
tigny and Montdidier they gave the He to that popular gibe of 
the Germans, "Americans can't fight." At Chateau Thierry 
and all along the Marne it was more of these despised 
American fighters which early in July aided the wearied 
French in bringing the invaders to a halt. By the fifteenth 
of the month Pershing had four hundred thousand young, 




American Soldiers on Duty in France 

vigorous soldiers at the front and seventy-five thousand 
fresh troops were reaching France every week. Three days 
later, without giving the Germans an opportunity to rest 
from their offensive, Foch, confident now of superiority in 
man power, launched the gigantic counter-blow he had 
planned. The enemy quailed before it, yielded, and, fight- 
ing desperately, retreated slowly all along the Marne. The 
Allies breathed freely once more — Paris had been saved and 
the German tide had begun to ebb. Without giving Luden- 
dorfif opportunity for recuperation, Foch followed up this 
drive with tremendous blows at widely separated points 



642 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



along the whole front. With his constantly increasing re- 
serves of fresh American troops he was able to change his 
point of attack so swiftly that no time was allowed the 
Germans to move troops from one salient to another. 
Slowly but surely the great German fighting machine was 
pushed back until by the end of August it rested on the old 
Hindenburg line, from whence five months before it had ad- 
vanced so boastingly. 

St. Mihiel and the Argonne Forest. — Just south of Ver- 
dun the Germans had driven a sharp wedge into the Allied 




The BatHe Tronh when hhe Allies bega-n fheir drive. 



\\'here the AmericaiT; Fouolit 



front, reaching to the city of St. Mihiel on the Meuse River. 
This salient was a constant menace to the Allies for any 
further projection of its point would place the whole south- 
ern end of their lines in extreme jeopardy. In the late sum- 
mer the task of wiping it out was assigned to General 
Pershing and his American army. On September thirteenth 
the battle began and continued for three days. Never be- 
fore did American soldiers bear themselves better under 
fire. By the end of the third day their ferocious charges 



THE WAR FOR DEMOCRACY 643 

had driven the Germans back eight miles along a thirty-mile 
front. 

A short distance north of St. Mihiel and northwest of 
Verdun lay a heavily forested region known as the Argonne 
Forest. The German line ran through it and guarded the 
railroads to the east upon which their troops in this section 
depended for supplies. No sooner was the St. Mihiel sa- 
lient wiped out than Marshal Foch ordered the Americans 
to take position on the French right and help drive the Ger- 
mans from the Argonne Forest. This battle-field resembled 
that of the Wilderness in the War of Secession. Not only 
did great trees and dense undergrowth impede the army at 
every step, but miles of barbed wire had been stretched and 
nests of machine guns planted at strategic points. How- 
ever, once given the command to advance, Pershing's men 
knew no such word as stop, and by the middle of October 
ihey had forced the Germans out of the Argonne Forest 
and penetrated deeply into their line of fortified trenches 
in the rear. In spite of a most stubborn resistance the 
French-American army drove its wedge deeper and deeper, 
until at last it brought the German supply lines within gun 
range. 

At the same time another titanic movement was taking 
]ilace in the north, where the British and French were roll- 
ing up the enemy's lines and gradually driving them out of 
France. With their reserves exhausted, their morale shat- 
tered, and given no opportunity to rest and reorganize, the 
Germans could do nothing now but retreat, and it was evi- 
dent to all that their collapse was inevitable. 

Fighting on other fronts. — As a part of the drive which 
was expected to end the war, the Austrians in June crossed 
the Piave, threatening to take Venice and overrun all north- 
ern Italy. Aided by French and British troops the Italians 
succeeded in hurling back the invaders. An Allied army 
advancing from Macedonia was fighting its way northward 



644 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

through Serbia and already threatening to overwhelm the 
Bulgars. General Allenby had set out from Egypt with 
another British army and pushed his way across the Syrian 
Desert in the face of many hardships. Already he had 
driven the Turks out of Jerusalem and was pressing north- 
ward into the heart of the sultan's empire. In the valleys 
of the Tigris and Euphrates near the Persian border still 
another British army was slowly fighting its way northward 
along the railroad leading from Bagdad to Constantinople. 

Germany's allies give up. — Forced to mass all her avail- 
able troops on the western front for the final grapple, 
Germany was unable to send reinforcements to her hard- 
pressed allies. Faced by starvation, with their resources 
exhausted, the people of Austria, Bulgaria and Turkey be- 
gan to demand peace at any price. Unable to resist longer, 
while the battle still raged in the Argonne Forest, Bulgaria 
asked for peace terms, and finally on September 30, 1918, 
surrendered. Now cut off completely from her allies and 
hopelessly bankrupt, Turkey was soon forced to yield (Oc- 
tober 31). Four days later, threatened with revolution and 
dismemberment, Austria-Hungary gave up, leaving Ger- 
many to fight it out with the Allies single-handed. 

Germany seeks peace. — The Imperial "high command" 
realized when Ludendorflf's great iTrlve failed that Germany 
was beaten. Still it fought on, trying to force the Allies 
into granting them more liberal terms ©f peace. When Bul- 
garia surrendered and it was evident that Austria and Tur- 
key could not hold out much longer, the German press began 
to talk peace. As Foch's offensive brought the Allied armies 
toward the German frontier, and there was a prospect of 
the war being carried into their rich Rhine provinces and 
perhaps to Berlin, the people demanded peace on any terms. 
Finally the situation in the army as well as at home became 
so desperate that on October fifth the German Government 
asked President Wilson to secure for it an armistice, as a 



I 



THE WAR FOR DEMOCRACY 



645 



temporary cessation of fighting is called. It declared itself 
ready to discuss peace on the basis of America's war aims, 
as set forth by the president in his address to Congress, 
January 8, 1918. For a month the question was informally 
considered, and meanwhile the German retreat had become 
almost a rout. 

The signing of the armistice. — At last the Allies in- 
formed Germany that to secure a cessation of hostilities 
she would have to apply to the commander of the armies 
in the field, as is the usual way. This her "high com- 




Photo from Undenvood & UuderwuuU 



The German Envoys Crossing the Lines on Their Way to a 
Conference with General Foch to Seek an Armistice 

mand" proceeded to do, thus acknowledging its defeat, 
and without delay an armistice was signed, which went into 
effect on November 11, 1918. As a guarantee against a 
renewal of hostilities, Germany was required to evacu- 
ate all Allied territory ; to surrender Alsace and Lorraine, 
the two French provinces wrested from France in the 
Franco-Prussian War ; to hand over her "high seas" fleet of 



646 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



dreadnoughts as well as all submarines ; and to disband most 
of her army. The Allies then proceeded to occupy certain 
strategic positions along the Rhine, so as to be ready to 
enforce their linal terms. 




American Troops Entering a German City to Enforce 
, the Terms of the Armistice 



President Wilson's fourteen points. — After the United 
States entered the struggle much discussion of the causes 
which had occasioned it went on among the Allies with a 
view to being able to draft such terms of peace as would 
make it the last war. It was agreed that Germany's ambi- 
tion for commercial supremacy had led her into a desire to 
dominate the world on the old theory that trade follows the 
flag. The bitterness of the struggle had given birth to the 
demand, "Never more!" For at last the. civilized world had 
awakened to the fact that war does not pay. In four years 
the accumulated wealth of generations had vanished in the 
general waste and destruction, and strong nations had been 
reduced to bankruptcy. 

Heretofore, wars had been settled with indemnities and 



THE WAR FOR DEMOCRACY 647 

cession of territory imposed by the victor on the van- 
quished. In his address urging Congress to declare a state 
of war existent, President Wilson had served notice on all 
nations that the United States would wage war to make the 
world safe for democracy and would seek no indemnities 
nor territorial gains. In his message to Russia, after the 
overthrow of the czar's government, he said : 

"No people must be forced to live under a sovereignty un- 
der which it does not wish to live. No territory must change 
hands except for the purpose of securing to those who in- 
habit it a fair chance of life and liberty. No indemnities 
must be insisted on except those that constitute payment for 
manifest wrongs done. . . . And then the free people of 
the world must draw together in some common covenant, 
some genuine and practical co-operation that will in effect 
combine their force to secure peace and justice in the deal- 
ings of nations with one another." 

On January 8, 1918, in a message to Congress, President 
Wilson, for the information of the people of Germany and 
Austria, enumerated the war aims of the United States in 
the form of "fourteen points," as follows: The abolition 
of secret treaties between nations ; the right of all nations 
to navigate the seas ; equal trading opportunities for every 
nation ; the reduction of armaments as much as internal 
conditions will permit ; fair adjustment of all colonial 
claims ; restitution by Germany of territory seized from 
Russia, and Russia's right to be governed by "institutions 
of her own choosing"; restoration of Belgium; return of 
Alsace and Lorraine to France ; readjustment of the Austro- 
Italian frontier so that districts inhabited by Italians would 
be under the jurisdiction of Italy; restoration of Serbia, 
Roumania and Montenegro ; securing to peoples under 
Turkish rule their lives and liberty ; dismantling of the 
forts along the Dardanelles, so as to make its navigation 
free to all nations ; the creation of an independent Poland ; 
and the establishment of a "league of nations," to secure to 



648 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

all nations, large and small, their independence and terri- 
torial integrity. 

The treaty of peace. — In January, 1919, delegates from 
all the Allied Powers met in Paris to formulate a treaty of 
peace. President Wilson attended, thus breaking the prece- 
dent that no president shall leave the United States during 
his term of office. From the start it was conceded that his 
"Fourteen Points" would constitute the basis of the treaty 
that was to restore peace and make the world safe for de- 
mocracy. President Wilson knew the jealousies of Euro- 
pean Powers, and that in the adjustments weak nations were 
likely to suffer injustice at the hands of the stronger, and 
therefore deemed it his duty to be present as a champion 
of the principles for which the United States had entered 
the war. 

Meanwhile, the Central Powers were undergoing great 
political changes. Revolutions took place accompanied with 
rioting and some loss of life. After the kaiser and crown 
prince had fled to Holland, and had renounced their rights 
to the imperial throne, Germany was proclaimed a republic. 
The emperor of Austria-Hungary was dethroned, and his 
realm broken into several parts, according to nationality. 

For five months the Peace Congress deliberated, assisted 
by an army of experts and secretaries. Every continent was 
concerned in the readjustments, and the views of the several 
Powers were so conflicting and hard to reconcile that at 
times much bitterness of feeling was engendered. Italy was 
so peeved because her claims to certain territories near the 
head of the Adriatic Sea were not recognized that her pre- 
mier even withdrew. Japan became offended over what she 
considered a discrimination against her people in the refusal 
of the Congress to allow them to emigrate at will. China, 
at the end, refused to sign the treaty because the Shantung 
peninsula, taken from her by Germany at the time of the 
"Boxer" troubles, was not returned directly. 



THE WAR FOR DEMOCRACY 



649 



Germany was compelled to readjust her boundary lines so 
as to satisfy the national aspirations of those peoples whom 
she had forcibly annexed in former years. She was also 
required to pay an indemnity of not less than twenty billion 
dollars to reimburse the Allies for the damages they had 




Photo iiom UudenvQod &. Umierwood 



The Peace Conference at Versailles, France, Drawing 
up the Treaty of Peace 

suffered. The treaty further compelled her to abolish com- 
pulsory military training, to cease manufacturing munitions 
on a large scale, and to reduce her army and navy to such 
proportions as were deemed sufficient for the preservation 
of domestic peace. Upon President Wilson's insistence, the 
treaty included a "League of Nations" covenant. This pro- 
vided for the creation of a council of nations whose func- 
tion should be to preserve world peace, by preventing any 
nation from committing acts which interfered with the 
rights of another. It also provided that a people not yet 



650 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

fitted for self-government should be assigned to one of the 
powers and governed by it as a "mandatory'' of the league. 

On the afternoon of June 29, 1919, in the same palace at 
Versailles that witnessed forty-eight years before the coro- 
nation of King William of Prussia as the first Emperor of 
Germany, the German envoys and representatives of the 
Allied Powers affixed their signatures to the treaty, which 
would reestablish peace as soon as it was ratified by their 
respective nations. 

The cost of the war. — The cost of the AYorld War stag- 
gers the imagination. Germany's expenditures were the 
largest of all the belligerents'— at least $35,000,000,000— 
with Great Britain's not far behind. In the short time the 
United States was engaged in it she spent $20,000,000,000 
and lent $8,000,000,000 more to her allies. Including dam- 
age to property and loss of trade, the entire cost to all the 
nations is estimated at $200,000,000,000— four times the 
entire annual income of every man, woman and child in the 
United States. 

It is not possible to state the exact number of lives lost, 
but according to careful estimates the war cost Europe 
seven million of her most able-bodied men. The American 
loss was about seventy thousand. On account of poor gen- 
eralship and inadequate equipment, Russia suffered the 
heaviest losses ; Germany came next. France was rapidly 
being "bled white" by the large percentage of her man 
power sacrificed as gun fodder. Estimates place the total 
number of wounded at nineteen million, of whom two hun- 
dred thousand were Americans. 

Were the loss to the production of wealth, through the 
destruction of so large a i^art of the world's man power, 
considered, the cost of the war would be double or even 
triple the actual expenditure of money. For generations 
Europe will stagger under the burden of debt and poverty 
the war has entailed, and for years the cost of living will 



THE WAR FOR DEMOCRACY 651 

be high due in part to scarcity of workers. Verily, the sins 
of the fathers are visited upon the children unto the third 
and fourth generations. 

A few revelations of the war. — The war brought to 
light some startling facts in regard to illiteracy in this covui- 
try. W'e found that there were 700,000 men of draft age 
who could not read or write in any language. There are 
more than 4,600,000 persons over twenty years of age who 
are illiterate. Probably the most striking fact of all is that 
1,500,000 of them are native whites. The country is losing 
from this ignorance $825,000,000 annually. The government 
is spending millions of dollars on publications for farmers, 
while ten per cent, of the country folk can not read or write. 

The war showed that in the United States there were 

In per cent, of the total population. 
' I ' I ^ I " I ' I ^ I ^ I ° I ' I "* I " r '^ I ' I '* I ' I I J i 



Middlf Atlantic 

StOtM 

Pocjric ana 
RockijMt.SlatM 



S 



i 



■i Native White Pirentaqe S Negroes □ foreign Porentoge 

Illiteracy in the United States According to the Census of 1910 

three hundred national societies of foreigners with forty- 
two thousand local branches. For the benefit of those who 
could not or would not read English there were eleven hun- 
dred forty-six foreign-language papers, not including the 
eight hundred forty-three German papers. 

The Selective Service Acts revealed interesting and vital 
facts heretofore unrecognized regarding the physical condi- 
tions of Americans. So many men were rejected who 
thought that they were normal physically that we were 
made to realize our imperfections. Under the terms of the 
first draft act two million five hundred thousand Americans, 
between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-one, were ex- 
amined by the local-board physicians. Out of this number 



652 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



more than seven hundred thirty thousand, or nearly 
one-third, were rejected on account of physical unfitness. 
Additional rejections on arrival at the training camps where 
special tests were given to determine mental and nervous 
fitness, made the number of unfit still greater. It is esti- 
mated that, all told, as high as forty per cent, of the pros- 







An American Cemetery in France 

pective soldiers under this act failed to measure up to the 
military requirements. One of the regrettable things about 
the situation was that so much of this unfitness was caused 
by diseases that can be prevented by j^ersonal cleanliness 
and public sanitation. 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. Describe the intrigues of Ambassador Bernstorff. Is the dis- 

missal of an ambassador always a cause of war? What was 
President Wilson's policy of "watchful waiting"? 

2. Read the Joint Resolution of April 6, 1917, and point out the 

parts that indicate that the responsibility for the war between 
the United States and Germany rested with the latter. 

3. Why did President Wilson make a distinction between the Ger- 

man Government and the German people? In discussing the 
American Revolution, have the historians been careful to 



THE WAR FOR DEMOCRACY 653 

make such a distinction between the government of George III 
and the English people? Do you think that if the German 
Government had been a democracy in 1914 the war would 
have occurred? 

4. What are some of the difficulties that a democratic government 

has to overcome in waging war? Enumerate the problems that 
confronted the United States upon entering the war. 

5. Explain the volunteer and conscription methods of raising an 

army. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? 
Was not the Selective Draft Law of 1917 really more demo- 
cratic than the volunteer method? 

6. How did the United States finance the War of Secession? 

Compare that method with those employed in the World War. 

7. The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 prohibited the pooling of 

railroads. Why did the government pool those east of the 
Mississippi River after entering the war? 

8. Napoleon once said that armies fight on their "stomachs." What 

did he mean by that? Why did food play such an important 
part in the World War ? What evidence can you give to show 
that the government appreciated this? 

9. Why was it necessary for the United States \o do so much con- 

structive work in France upon entering the war? Describe it. 

10. Describe the last German drive, and show how the Americans 

upset Germany's plans. 

11. Do you think that the war would have ended differently if any 

one of the powers, Belgium, Russia, England, Italy or the 
United States, had not entered it? Explain your answer. 

12. Read President Wilson's "Fourteen Points." What are the 

chief things in them? What is an armistice? 

13. Read the Covenant of the League of Nations. What is the 

tenth article? Do you see anything in it that is contrary to the 
Monroe Doctrine? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. General John J. Pershing, General Haig, and Marshal Foch. 

2. The "Doughboys" at Chateau Thierry. 

3. The fight at the St. Mihiel Salient. 

4. The battle of Argonne Wood. 

Much valuable information on the subjects in this chapter will 
be found in the copies of the Historical Outlook and Current 
History that were issued while these events were happening. 



CHAPTER XLVI 
FROM WAR TO PEACE 

President Wilson's policy not upheld. — In the election 
of 1918 the Democrats lost control of both houses of Con- 
gress, President Wilson's policy of not consulting the Sen- 
ate with reference to the treaty, while the Peace Congress 
was in session, offended the Republican majority. For this 
and political considerations, when Congress met in special 
session to enact such legislation as was needed to restore the 
nation to a peace basis, feeling ran high and a determined 
effort was made to humiliate him. 

As soon as tWe president returned to the United States 
he laid the treaty before the Senate for ratification. When 
it seemed likely that the Senate would insist on amending 
it, he resorted to his favorite device for forcing legislation 
— a direct appeal to the country. In a tour of the leading 
cities of the United States President Wilson addressed the 
public, explaining the provisions of the treaty to which cer- 
tain senators objected, and urged his hearers to insist on 
its ratification without amendment. This time, however, he 
failed for the people showed a disappointing interest and 
did not make their influence felt. At last, after much de- 
bate, the Senate ratified the treaty with a series of reser- 
vations attached. President Wilson refused to accept it in 
this shape, believing that these reservations would cut the 
life out of the League of Nations covenant. 

Demobilization. — Meanwhile the country was in a 
state of extreme unrest. When the war closed about three 
million men were under arms and nearly two million of 

654 



FROM WAR TO PEACE 655 

them were in Europe. Not only must these men be demo- 
bihzed and returned to their places in the economic life of 
the nation, but the factories which had been running night 
and day to produce munitions and war supplies had to be 
turned to new uses. The railroad and telegraph systems 
must be restored once more to their owners, under condi- 
tions which would enable them to meet the greatly increased 
cost of operation acquired during government control as 
well as to return a reasonable profit on the investment. For 
the hundreds of soldiers who had been disabled for life 
during the war new means of earning a living had to be 
found. Although it was feared by many that demobilization 
would glut the labor market and cause much suffering, it 
was accompanied by such a falling off in production of 
everything, due to a disposition to take things easy, that 
there was an actual scarcity of workers for both farms and 
manufactories. At a conference of governors and mayors 
held in Washington in the fall of 1919 the Secretary of 
Labor declared . there was actually less unemployment in 
the country than in normal times. Whereas there are usu- 
ally about a million laborers out of work, at that time there 
were only about seven hundred thousand. 

Unrest and radicalism throughout the country. — Dur- 
ing the war labor of all kinds had received the highest wages 
in the history of the country, and although the cost of living 
had reached unheard-of levels, still it was able to enjoy 
comforts and luxuries never before known. Now when the 
cost of necessities was mounting higher and higher due to 
shortage occasioned by a falling off In production and 
profiteering, many branches of organized labor not only 
demanded higher wages but also shorter hours. The whole 
country was suffering from strikes or threats of strikes, and 
demands were actually made on Congress for the employees 
to be given control of the railroads. Much of this unrest 
and discontent resulted from a wide-spread campaign con- 



656 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



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Coi 


r o( Living 
sjes (June 


(1914 used aa 
1914 used as 


basis) 
basis) 







How the World War Afifected Cost of Living and Union 
Wages in the United States 



ducted by those whose sole object was to overthrow the pre- 
vaiHng social system, just as had been done in Russia two 
years before. 

The Bolsheviki and their wicked philosophy. — The 
word ''Bolsheviki" came from Russia, where in 1903 it was 
applied to the Social Democratic party led by the same 
Lenine who fifteen years later so willingly surrendered the 
Russian provinces to Germany. The Bolsheviki advocated 
control of the government, monasteries, railroads and land 
by the laboring class, and to-day Russia's one hundred and 
eighty million people are under the dictatorship of two hun- 
dred thousand of them. The Bolsheviki are opposed to 
majority rule, universal suffrage, or democracy. They en- 
courage the lazy, shiftless, discontented and lawless to hate 
and plunder everybody not in their own class. 

In the United States the war showed labor how much the 



FROM WAR TO PEACE 657 

other classes depend on it. As a result, certain extremists 
were carried away with Bolshevism and in their enthusiasm 
actually tried to establish soviet control. In their efforts 
they were aided by many periodicals and newspapers, and 
tons of revolutionary literature filled with misrepresenta- 
tions designed to poison the minds of the discontented 
against their government. This propaganda made its strong- 
est appeal to the homeless laborers in the mines, forests and 
wheat-fields, and to foreigners of low intelligence in the 
ranks of organized labor. 

The Industrial Workers of the World and their vicious 
activities. — The Industrial Workers of the World is a 
revolutionary labor organization which was organized in 
Chicago in 1905. It includes men of all crafts and trades 
and has for its chief object the overthrow of our industrial 
system and the ownership and control of factories, shops, 
and railroads by organized labor. In 1917 it claimed a 
membership of eighty-five thousand and was closely affili- 
ated with the Bolshevikr. Within the past few years it has 
conducted many bitter strikes such as the silk workers of 
New Jersey (1913), the iron miners of Minnesota (1916), 
and the lumber workers of the Northwest (1917). During 
the war it undertook the destruction of various things essen- 
tial to military success, interference by strikes and other- 
wise with plants engaged in making war materials, and an 
obstruction of the drafts. In 1919 at Centralia, Washing- 
ton, Industrial Workers fired from their headquarters into 
an Armistice Day parade and killed a number of ex- 
soldiers. 

The deportation of Bolshevists. — At last the country 
awoke to its danger from these radicals. The members of 
the American Legion, as the organization of ex-service men 
in the World War is called, the farmers' organizations, the 
employers and the conservative element in organized labor 
demanded that they be rooted out. Congress responded by 



658 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



enacting a law authorizing the government to deport ahens 
who print, edit, display or circulate anarchistic literature, 
or those who are members of organizations that issue revo- 
lutionary publications, or financially aid such propaganda. 
Under this law many persons, including the notorious an- 
archists Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, have 
been deported to soviet Russia. From all parts of the coun- 




Phuto troui Underwood & Undenvood 



Bolshevists Going Aboard the "Ark" Buford for 
Deportation to Russia 

try a demand has come for more stringent laws governing 
immigration, and especially for one placing immigrants on 
probation and making naturalization more difficult. It is 
generally agreed that foreigners must be Americanized be- 
fore being allowed to become citizens, in order that they 
may be protected against the insidious arguments of revolu- 
tionary propagandists. 

The coal strike of 1919. — The United Mine Workers of 
America, claiming that the advance in their wages had not 
kept pace with the cost of living, met in convention at Cleve- 
land, Ohio, in September, 1919, and adopted a new scale 
which included a sixty per cent, increase in wages, a six- 



FROM WAR TO PEACE 659 

hour clay, and a five-day week. When this was presented to 
the mine operators and they refused to accept it, the 
president of the United Mine Workers issued a strike order 
to take effect on October thirty-first. Although President 
Wilson had been seriously ill for several months, the situa- 
tion was brought to his attention and a statement was given 
out over his signature urging a recall of this order on the 
ground that it was "unjustifiable" and "unlawful." Mean- 
while the federal judge at Indianapolis, Indiana, had issued 
an injunction restraining the miners' officials from calling 
the strike. 

In spite of all this the strike order stood and on Novem- 
ber first about four hundred thousand miners struck. 
Threatened with imprisonment and confronted by open war 
with the government, the leaders of the mine workers finally 
yielded and withdrew their strike order. President Wilson 
then proposed an increase of fourteen per cent, in wages and 
the appointment of a commission to investigate the coal in- 
dustry to ascertain whether a further increase was neces- 
sary. The miners accepted this proposition and returned 
to work. This did not happen, however, until many com- 
munities were actually suft'ering from lack of coal and 
public opinion had been violently aroused at the expense of 
organized labor. In Kansas where the mines had been 
worked in the emergency by volunteers drawn from the 
younger business men and the state colleges, a special ses- 
sion of the legislature was convened which, much against the 
wishes of organized labor, enacted a law prohibiting strikes 
and providing for an industrial court to adjudicate labor dis- 
putes. Thus ended what had threatened to be the most seri- 
ous clash with organized labor in the history of the country. 

Recent relations with Mexico. — Notwithstanding the 
repeated warnings given Carranza that American citizens 
in Mexico must be protected, their condition was constantly 
becoming more intolerable. The Carranza Government had 



660 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

actually proclaimed a law preventing further production of 
oil on lands owned by American interests, and had sent rep- 
resentatives to South America to seek a market for petro- 
leum. This seemed to indicate a disposition to confiscate the 
oil fields around Tampico where much American capital is 
invested. 

Bandits and revolutionary marauders continued to rob, 
murder and kidnap Americans living along the border, while 
the Mexican Government remained either unwilling or un- 
able to prevent such outrages against international law. 
When, however, William O. Jenkins, the American consular 
agent at Puebla, was kidnaped and held for one hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars' ransom the nation's patience was 
about exhausted. While the press was vigorously insisting 
on action, a part of the ransom demanded was paid and 
Jenkins was released. Soon, however, he was arrested by 
the Mexican authorities, first on a charge of connivance 
with the bandits and later of perjury. 

Owing to President Wilson's illness. Secretary of State 
Lansing, with the advice of the Cabinet, took matters into 
his own hands and notified the Mexican Government that 
such conduct was "surprising" and "exasperating" and de- 
manded the liberation of Mr. Jenkins. Mexico replied by 
questioning whether the United States had a right to make 
such a demand, since Mr. Jenkins was being tried according 
to Mexican criminal law. 

Ever since Carranza became president of Mexico he had 
been engaged in desultory warfare with Villa and his rebel 
forces. Finally in the spring of 1920 while the Mexicans 
were excited over the impending presidential election, re- 
bellion broke out in widely separated parts of the country. 
Carranza and his government were forced to flee from 
Mexico City and after declining to surrender to the rebels 
on promise of safe conduct to the frontier, the president was 
assassinated by one of his own party. In the election Gen- 



FROM WAR TO PEACE 



661 



Doll a r s 



eral Alvaro Obregon was chosen president. Many promi- 
nent persons from the United States attended his inaugura- 
tion, and if he adheres to the pledges made then Mexico has 
entered upon a period of peace and prosperity. 

The presidential election of 1920. — After many ballots 
the Republican convention nominated Warren G. Harding, 
United States Senator from Ohio, for the presidency, and 
Governor Calvin Coolidge, of Massachusetts, for the vice- 
presidency. The Democrats chose as their standard bearers 
Governor James M. Cox, of Ohio, and Franklin D. Roose- 
velt, the assistant secretary of the navy. The Socialists 
and Prohibitionists and a new organization calling itself 
the Farmer-Labor party also nominated candidates and 
made a bid for support. The campaign was exceedingly 
hard fought. Harding 
adopted the McKinley 
plan of staying at home 
and making "front 
porch" speeches to visit- 
ing delegations. Cox on 
the other hand made an 
extensive "swing around 
the country," traveling 
over twenty thousand 
miles, visiting thirty-six 
states, and delivering 
several hundred 
speeches. 

The Democrats in- 
sisted that the issue 
was the League of Na- 
tions covenant in the 
Treaty of Versailles, 
which the Senate had refused to ratify without reservations 
unsatisfactory to President Wilson. They claimed that un- 




How the Per Capita Cost of the 

Federal Government 

Has Increased 



662 



OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 



less Cox was elected the nation would be remiss in its duty 
to civilization by failing to align itself on the side of those 
who would enforce world peace. The Republicans accused 




D HARDING 
■ COX 



Distribution of Electoral Votes in the Election of 1920 



the Democrats of extravagance in the conduct of the gov- 
ernment and demanded that the country return to the teach- 
ings of the Father of the Repub- 
lic and avoid any international 
obligations which might jeopar- 
dize American sovereignty. 

The result of the election was 
a landslide for the Republicans. 
Not only were Harding and Coo- 
lidge elected but the Republicans 
were assured large pluralities in 
both houses of Congress as well. 
For the first time since 1868 the 
"Solid South" had been broken 
and Tennessee chose Republican 
Warren G. Harding electors. 




FROM WAR TO PEACE 663 

Questions and Directions for Reading and Study 

1. At the close of the War of Secession it was an easy thing for 
a discharged soldier to pass into the peaceful pursuits. Why 
was this more difficult at the close of the World War? 

2. What was included in demobilization ? What are the advantages 
of locating discharged soldiers and sailors on farms? De- 
scribe Secretary Lane's plan for doing this. 

3. What are the things that cause people to be restless, to engage 

in strikes, and even to try to overthrow the government under 
which they live? Can you show that the Bolsheviki are try- 
ing to destroy civilization itself? Why does Bolshevism find 
advocates here in the United States? 

4. Find out the chief things that the Industrial Workers of the 

World stand for. Which is the more effective method of rid- 
ding the country of anarchistic organizations, legislation or 
education? 

5. Do you think the United States should take over the coal mines 

of the country? Why was the public so vitally interested in 
the coal strike of 1919? 

6. How did the kidnaping of Mr. Jenkins in Mexico complicate the 

relations between the United States and Mexico? 

SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

1. The deportation of anarchists. 

2. Rehabilitation of the wounded and crippled soldiers. 

3. The Kansas Court of Industrial Relations. 

The United States Enters the Great War and Helps to 
Make the World Safe for Democracy 

I. A Half-Century of Progress. 

A. New and improved methods of transportation and com- 
munication. 

B. The development of woman suffrage. 

C. Government becomes more popular. 

D. The prohibition movement increases. 

E. A greater interest shown in education. 

II. War Breaks Out in Europe. 

A. War between Austria and Serbia. 

B. Germany, Russia, Belgium, France and England drawn 
into the struggle. 



664 OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY 

* 

1. The battle of the Marne. 

2. The Russians invade East Prussia. Hindenburg's 
drive. 

C. The campaign of 1915. 

1. The Germans make a powerful drive for Calais. 

2. The Russians driven out of Austria. Austria in- 
vaded. 

3. The Gallipoli Expedition. 

4. Italy enters the struggle on tlie side of tlie Allies. 

D. The campaign of 1916. 

1. The battle of Verdun. 

2. Fighting on the Italian Front. 

III. The United States Enters the War. 

A. The efforts of the United States to remain neutral. 

B. Germany violates the rules of warfare and the laws of 
humanity. 

■ C. The United States mobilizes her resources. 

1. The Selective Draft Acts. 

2. Methods of financing the war. 

3. The government takes control of transportation fa- 
cilities. 

4. The government controls food and fuel. 

5. The American soldiers turn tide of battle. 

D. Germany seeks peace. 

1. The Armistice. 

2. President Wilson's fourteen points. 

3. The Peace Conference. 

E. Problems of peace. 

1. Demobilization. 

2. Rooting out radicals and anarchists. 

3. Restoring order and contentment in tlie industrial 
world. 

4. Eliminating the evils revealed by tlie war. 



APPENDIX 



APPENDIX 
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more per- 
fect union, estabhsh justice, insure domestic tranquiUity, provide for 
the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the 
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and 
establish this Constitution for the United States of America. 

ARTICLE I 

SECTION I 

All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress 
of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of 
Representatives. 

SECTION II 

The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen 
every second year by the people of the several States, and the electors 
in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the 
most numerous branch of the State legislature. 

No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained the 
age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United 
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State 
in which he shall be chosen. 

Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the 
several States which may be included within this Union, according 
to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to 
the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service 
for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of 
all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be made within three 
years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, 
and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as 
they shall by law direct. The number of Representatives shall not 
exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at 
least one Representative ; and until such enumeration shall be made, 
the State of A^ew Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three, Massa- 



iv APPENDIX 

chusctts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Con- 
necticut five, Nezv York six. New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, 
Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South 
Carolina five, and Georgia three. 

When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the 
executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such 
vacancies. 

The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other 
officers, and shall have tlie sole power of impeachment. 

SECTION III 

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Sen- 
ators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six 
years ; and each Senator shall have one vote. 

Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the 
first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three 
classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated 
at the expiration of the second year ; of the second class, at the ex- 
piration of the fourth year, and of the third class, at the expiration 
of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen every second year ; 
and if vacancies happen by resignation or otherwise during the recess 
of the Legislature of any State, the executive thereof may make 
temporary appointments vmtil the next meeting of the Legislature, 
which shall then fill such vacancies. 

No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the 
age of thirty years, and been nine 3'ears a citizen of the United 
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that 
State for which he shall be chosen. 

The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the 
Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President 
pro tempore in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall 
exercise the office of President of the United States. 

The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. 
When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. 
When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice 
shall preside : and no person shall be convicted without the concur- 
rence of two-thirds of the members present. 

Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than 
to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any 
office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States ; but the 



APPENDIX V 

party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indict- 
ment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law. 

SECTION IV 

The times, places, and manner of holding elections for Senators 
and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the Legis- 
lature thereof ; but the Congress may at any time by law make or 
alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators. 

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such 
meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall 
by law appoint a different day. 

SECTION V 

Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and quali- 
fications of its own members, and a majority of each shall consti- 
tute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn 
from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance 
of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties, as 
each house may provide. 

Each house may determine tlie rules of its proceeding, punish its 
members for disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence of two- 
thirds, expel a member. 

Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time 
to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judg- 
ment require secrecy, and the yeas and nays of the members of 
either house on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those 
present, be entered on the journal. 

Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the 
consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any 
other place than that in wliich the two houses shall be sitting. 

SECTION VI 

The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation for 
their services, to be ascertained by law and paid out of the Treasury 
of the United States. They shall, in all cases except treason, felony, 
and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their at- 
tendance at the session of their respective houses, and in going to 
and returning from the same ; and for any speech or debate in either 
house they shall not be questioned in any other place. 

No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he 
was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of 
the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments 



vi APPENDIX 

whereof shall have been increased during such time ; and no person 
holding any office under the United States shall be a member of 
either house during his continuance in office. 

SECTION VII 

All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Rep- 
resentatives ; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amend- 
ments as on other bills. 

Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives 
and the Senate shall, before it become a law, be presented to the 
President of the United States ; if he approve he shall sign it, but 
if not he shall return it, with his objections, to that house in which 
it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on 
their journal and proceed to reconsider it. H after such reconsider- 
ation two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be 
sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which it 
shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that 
house it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both 
houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the 
persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal 
of each house respectively. H any bill shall not be returned by the 
President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have 
been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if 
he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent 
its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the 
Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on 
a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of 
the United States ; and before the same shall take effect, shall be 
approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by 
two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according 
to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 

SKCTION VIII 

The Congress shall have power to laj' and collect taxes, duties, 
imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common 
defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, 
imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; 

To borrow money on the credit of the United States ; 

To regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several 
States, and with the Indian tribes ; 



APPENDIX vii 

To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws 
on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States; 

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, 
and fix the standard of weights and measures; 

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and 
current coin of the United States; 

To establish post-ofhces and post-roads ; 

To promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing 
for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to 
their respective writings and discoveries ; 

To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court ; 

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high 
seas and offenses against the law of nations ; 

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make 
rules concerning captures on land and water ; 

To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to 
that use shall be for a longer term than two years ; 

To provide and maintain a navy ; 

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and 
naval forces ; 

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the 
Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions ; 

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, 
and for governing such part of them as may be employed in tlie 
service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively the 
appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia 
according to the discipline prescribed by Congress ; 

To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over sucli 
district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of par- 
ticular States and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of 
the Government of the United States, and to exercise like authority 
over all places purchased by the consent of the Legislature of the 
State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, 
arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings ; and 

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying 
into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by 
this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any 
department or officer thereof. 

SECTION IX 

The migration or importation of such persons as any of the States 
now existing shall think proper to admit shall not be prohibited by 
the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight. 



viii APPENDIX 

but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding 
ten dollars for each person. 

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, 
unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may 
require it. 

No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion 
to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken. 

No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. 

No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or 
revenue to the ports of one State over those of another; nor shall 
vessels bound to or from one State be obliged to enter, clear, or pay 
duties in another. 

No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in consequence 
of appropriations made by law ; and a regular statement and account 
of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be pub- 
lished from time to time. 

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States ; and no 
person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without 
the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, 
or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign State. 

SECTION X 

No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; 
grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of 
credit making anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment 
of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law im- 
pairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 

No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any imposts 
or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely 
necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the net produce of 
all duties and imposts, laid by any State on imports or exports, shall 
be for the use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such 
laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress. 

No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of 
tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any 
agreement or compact with another State or with a foreign power, 
or engage in war, unless actually invaded or in such imminent 
danger as will not admit of delay. 



APPENDIX 

ARTICLE II 



The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United 
States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four 
years, and together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same 
term, be elected as follows : 

Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof 
may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of Sen- 
ators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the 
Congress ; but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an 
office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed 
an elector. 

[The electors shall meet in their respective States and vote bj' 
ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an in- 
habitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a 
list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for 
each; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to 
the seat of government of the United States, directed to the Presi- 
dent of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the pres- 
ence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the cer- 
tificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person having 
the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number 
be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if 
there be more than one who have such majority, and have an 
equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall im- 
mediately choose by ballot one of them for President; and if no 
person have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the 
said house shall in like manner choose the President. But in choos- 
ing the President the votes shall be taken by States, the representa- 
tion from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose 
shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, 
and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. In 
every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the 
greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice-President. 
But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the 
Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice-President.]* 

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors 
and the day on which they shall give their votes, which day shall be 
the same throughout the United States. 

*This clause of the Constitution has been amended. See twelfth article of 
the Amendments. 



X APPENDIX 

No person except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the United 
States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be 
eligible to the office of President ; neither shall any person be eligible 
to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five 
years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States. 

In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his 
death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties 
of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President, and 
the Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, 
resignation, or inability, both of the President and Vice-President, 
declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such officer 
shall act accordingly until the disability be removed or a President 
shall be elected. 

The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a 
compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during 
the period for which he may have been elected, and he shall not 
receive within that period any other emolument from the United 
States or any of them. 

Before he enter on the execution of his office he shall take the 
following oath or affirmation : 

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the 
office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my 
ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United 
States." 

SECTION II 

The President shall be Commander-in-Chief of the Army and 
Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States 
when called into the actual service of the United States ; he may 
require tlie opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the 
executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of 
their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves 
and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases 
of impeachment. 

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present 
concur ; and he sliall nominate, and, by and with the advice and con- 
sent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers 
and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of 
the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise pro- 
v'ded for, and which shall be established by law; but the Congress 



APPENDIX xi 

may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they 
think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the 
heads of departments. 

The President shall have the power to fill up all vacancies that 
may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commis- 
sions which shall expire at the end of their next session. 

SECTION III- 

He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of 
the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such 
measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on 
extraordinary occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, and 
in case of disagreement between them with respect to the time of 
adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think 
proper ; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers ; he 
shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall com- 
mission all the officers of the United States. 

SECTION IV 

The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United 
States shall be removed from office on impeachment for and con- 
viction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE III 

SECTION I 

The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one 
Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may 
from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the 
Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good 
behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a com- 
pensation which shall not be diminished during their continuance 
in office. 

SECTION II 

The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, 
arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and 
treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority ; to all 
cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls ; to 
all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies 
to which the United States shall be a party ; to controversies be- 



xii APPENDIX 

tween two or more States ; between a State and citizens of another 
State; between citizens of different States; between citizens of the 
same State claiming lands under grants of diflferent States, and be- 
tween a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign States, citizens, 
or subjects. 

In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and con- 
suls, and those in which a State shall be a party, the Supreme Court 
shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before men- 
tioned the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as 
to law and fact, with such exceptions and under such regulations as 
the Congress shall make. 

The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be 
by jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said 
crimes shall have been committed ; but when not committed within 
any State, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress 
may by law have directed. 

SECTION III 

Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying 
war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid 
and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the 
testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession 
in open court. 

The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of 
treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood 
or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV 



Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts, 
records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the 
Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such 
acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

SECTION II 

The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and 
immunities of citizens in the several States. 

A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, 
who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on 
demand of the executive avithority of the State from which he fled. 



APPENDIX xiii 

be delivered up, to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of 
the crime. 

No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws 
thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or 
regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but 
shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service 
or labor may be due. 

SECTION III 

New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; 
but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction 
of any other State; nor any State be formed by the junction of two 
or more States or parts of States, without the consent of the Legis- 
latures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. 

The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful 
rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property be- 
longing to the United States ; and nothing in this Constitution shall 
be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States or 
of any particular State. 

SECTION IV 

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a 
republican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
against invasion, and on application of the Legislature, or of the 
executive (when the Legislature can not be convened), against do- 
mestic violence. 

ARTICLE V 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it 
necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the 
application of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the several States, 
shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which in either 
case shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of this Con- 
stitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the 
several States, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one 
or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress, 
provided that no amendments which may be made prior to the year 
one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner aflPect 
the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; 
and that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal 
suffrage in the Senate. 



xiv APPENDIX 

ARTICLE VI 

All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the 
adoption of tbis Constitution, sball be as vaHd against the United 
States under this Constitution as under the confederation. 

This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall 
be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall 
be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the 
supreme law of the land; and the judges in every State shall be 
bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State 
to the contrary notwithstanding. 

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the mem- 
bers of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial 
officers both of the United States and of the several States, shall be 
bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution ; but no 
religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office 
or public trust under the United States. 

ARTICLE VII 

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient 
for the establishment of this Constitution between the States so 
ratifj'ing the same. 

Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the States 
present, the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our 
Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the 
independence of the United States of America the twelfth. In 
witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names. 

George Washington, President, and Deputy from Virginia. 

New Hampshire — John Langdon, Nicliolas Oilman. 

Massachusetts — Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King. 

Connecticut — William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman. 

New York — Alexander Hamilton. 

New Jersey — William Livingston, David Brearly, William Pat- 
terson, Jonathan Dayton. 

Pennsylvania — Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin. Robert Mor- 
ris, George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wil- 
son, Gouverneur Morris. 

Delaware — George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickinson, 
Richard Bassett, Jacob Broom. 

Maryland — James McHenry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Daniel 
Carroll. 



APPENDIX XV 

Virginia — Jolin Blair, James Madison, Jr, 

North Carolina — William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh 
Williamson. 

South Carolina — John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 
Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler. 

Georgi.\ — William Few, Abraham Baldwin. 

Attest : William Jackson, Secretary. 

The States ratified the Constitution in the following order: — 

Delaware December 7, 1787 — Unanimously 

Pennsylvania December 12, 1787 — Yes, 46 ; No, 23 

New Jersey December 18, 1787 — Unanimously 

Georgia January 2, 1788 — Unanimously 

Connecticut January 9, 1788— Yes, 128 ; No, 40 

Massachusetts February 6, 1788— Yes, 187 ; No, 168 

Maryland April 28, 1788— Yes, 63 ; No, 12 

South Carolina May 23, 1788— Yes, 149; No, 73 

New Hampshire June 21, 1788— Yes, 57; No, 46 

Virginia June 25, 1788— Yes, 89; No, 79 

New York July 26, 1788— Yes, 30 ; No, 28 

North Carolina November 21, 1789— Yes, 193 ; No, 75 

Rhode Island May 29, 1790— Yes, 34 ; No, 32 



ARTICLES 
IN ADDITION TO, AND AMENDMENT OF, 

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 
OF AMERICA 

ARTICLE I 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of re- 
ligion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging tlie. 
freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peace- 
ably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of 
grievances. 

ARTICLE II 

A well regulated inilitia being necessary to the securitj' of a free 
State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be 
infringed. 

ARTICLE III 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, 
without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a man- 
ner to be prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE IV 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall 
not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, 
supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the 
place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. 

ARTICLE V 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise in- 
famous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand 
jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the 
(Tiilitia, wheii iii actual service in time of war or public danger ; nor 

xvi 



APPENDIX xvii 

shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in 
jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case 
to he a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or 
property, without due process of law ; nor shall private property be 
taken for public use without just compensation. 

ARTICLE VI 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to 
a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and dis- 
trict wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district 
shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of 
the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be confronted with the 
witnesses against him ; to have compulsory process for obtaining 
witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his 
defence. 

ARTICLE VII 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall ex- 
ceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, 
and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any 
court of the United States, tlian according to the rules of the com- 
mon law. 

ARTICLE VIII 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

ARTICLE IX 

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not 
be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

ARTICLE X 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitu- 
tion, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States 
respectively, or to the people. 

December 15, 1791, the President in a message to Congress declared that the 
above ten amendments had been ratified by all the States. 

ARTICLE XI 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed 
to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosi-cuted 



xviii APPENDIX 

against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or 
by citizens or subjects of any foreign State. 

This amendment was submitted to the States by Congress, March S, 1794. Its 
ratification by all the States was proclaimed by the Secretary of State, Jan- 
uary 8, 1798. 

ARTICLE XII 

Section 1. The electors shall meet in their respective States and 
vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at 
least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves ; 
they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, 
and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and 
they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President 
and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number 
of votes for each ; which lists they shall sign and certify, and trans- 
mit sealed to the seat of government of the United States, directed 
to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, 
in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all 
the certificates and the votes shall then be counted. The person hav- 
ing the greatest number of votes for President shall be the Presi- 
dent, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors 
appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the 
persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list 
of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall 
choose imrnediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the 
President the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from 
each State having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist 
of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a ma- 
jority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the 
House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever 
the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day 
of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as Presi- 
dent, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability 
of the President. 

Section 2. The person having the greatest number of votes as 
Vice-President shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a 
majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no per- 
son have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list 
the Senate shall choose the Vice-President ; a quorum for the pur- 
pose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, 
and a, majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. 



APPENDIX xix 

Section 3. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of 
President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United 
States. 

This amendment was submitted to the States by Congress, December 12, 1803. 
Its ratification bj; all the States, except Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, 
and New Hampshire, was proclaimed by the Secretary of State, September 28, 1804. 

ARTICLE XIII 

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as 
a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly con- 
victed, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to 
their jurisdiction. 

Section 2. Congress sliall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriata legislation. 

This, the first of the "Reconstruction Amendments," was submitted to the 
States by Congress, l'"ebruary 1, 1865. Its ratification was proclaimed by the 
Secretary of State, December 18, 1865. Delaware and Kentucky rejected it; 
Alabama and Mississippi ratified it conditionally; Texas took no action. 

ARTICLE XIV 

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, 
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United 
States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or 
enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of 
citizens of the United States ; nor shall any State deprive any per- 
son of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor 
deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of 
the laws. 

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several 
States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole 
number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But 
wheti the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for 
President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives 
in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the 
members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male 
inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citi- 
zens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for par- 
ticipation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation 
therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such 
male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty- 
one years of age in such State. 

Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in 



XX APPENDIX 

Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any 
office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, 
who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or 
as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State 
Legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to 
support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged 
in insurrection or rebellion against the same or given aid or com- 
fort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two- 
thirds of each house, remove such disability. 

Section 4. The vahdity of the public debt of the United States, 
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions 
and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, 
shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any 
State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of 
insurrection or rebellion against the United States or any claim foi 
the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations 
and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appro- 
priate legislation, the provisions of this article. 

This, the second of the "Reconstruction Amendments," was submitted to the 
States by Congress, June 16, 1866. Its ratification was proclaimed ty the Sec- 
retary of State, July 28, 1868. The ten Southern States and Delaware, Ken- 
tucky and Maryland rejected it; the twenty-three Northern States ratified it; 
California took no action. Later the Southern States were compelled to ratify 



this Amendment. 



ARTICLE XV 



Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote 
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State 
on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article 
by appropriate legislation. 

This, the third of the "Reconstruction Amendments," was submitted to the 
States by Congress, February 27, 1869. Its ratification was_ proclaimed by the 
.Secretary of State, March 30, 1870. California, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland 
and Oregon rejected it; Tennessee took no action; al! the other States ratified 
it, although New Jersey at first rejected it (1870) and New York rescinded its 
ratification, January 5, 1870. 

ARTICLE XVI 

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, 
from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the 
several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration. 

This amendment was submitted to the States by Congress, July 12, 1909. Its 
ratification was proclaimed by the Secretary of State, February 25.1913. All 
the States ratified it except Connecticut, Florida, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, 
Utah and Virginia. 



APPENDIX 



ARTICLE XVII 

Section 1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of 
two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six 
years ; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each 
State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most 
numerous branch of the State Legislature. 

Section 2. When vacancies happen in the representation of any 
State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue 
writs of election to fill such vacancies ; Provided, That the Legis- 
lature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make 
temporary appointment until the people fill the vacancies by election 
as the Legislature may direct. 

Section 3. This Amendment shall not be so construed as to affect 
the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid 
as part of the Constitution. 

This amendment was submitted to the States by Congress, May 16, 1912. Its 
ratification was proclaimed by the Secretary of State, May 31, 1913. All the 
States ratified it except Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Loui- 
siana, Maryland, Mississippi, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia. 

ARTICLE XVIII 

Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the 
manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, 
the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the 
United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof, 
for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited. 

Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have con- 
current power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 

Section 3. This article shall be in operation when it shall have 
been ratified as an Amendment to the Constitution by the Legis- 
latures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within 
seven years from the date of submission hereof to the States by 
the Congress. 

This amendment was submitted to the States by Congress, December 19, 
1917. Its ratification was proclaimed by the Secretary of State, January 29, 
1919. It was ratified by forty-five States. Rhode Island rejected it, and also 
Ohio, by a referendum vote. 

ARTICLE XIX 

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be 
denied or aliridged by the United States or by any State on accotmt 
of sex. 



xxii APPENDIX 

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate 
legislation. 

This Amendment has been ratified by the Legislatures of the States of Ari- 
zona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, 
Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, 
Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North 
Dakota New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, 
South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin 
and Wyoming. Its ratification was proclaimed by the Secretary of State Au- 
gust 26, 1920. 



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INDEX 



Abolitionists, encourage slaves to 
escape, 345, 346; aid John Brown, 
377, 378. 

Acadia, 93, 95. 

Acadians, exile of, 105, 106. 

Act of Succession, 96. 

Adams, John, helps negotiate the 
Treaty of Paris, 202; the first vice- 
president, 218; administration of, 
231-233, 241. 

Adams, John Quincy, inspires the 
Monroe Doctrine, 279; elected presi- 
dent, 283, 284. 

Adams, Samuel, 153, 158-160, 167. 

Agricultural and mechanical colleges, 
570. 

Agricultural high schools, 571. 

Agriculture, colonial, 135, 136; in the 
South after the War of Secession, 
466, 467. 

Aguinaldo, Emilio, 535, 536. 

Alabama, visited by De Soto, 29; se- 
cession of, 384; political rights re- 
stored to, 455. 

Alabama, the career of, 409; claims 
arising from, 460. 

Alamance River, battle of, 158, 159. 

Alamo, the siege of, 324. 

Alaska, Russian posts established in, 
247; purchase of, 460; discovery of 
gold in, 523, 524. 

Albania. 596. 

Albany Congress, 103. 

Albert, King, 609, 616. 

Alexander, Emperor, 576. 

Algonquins, tribes of, 24; conspire 
against the English, 150; in the 
Revolutionary War, 200, 201. 

Alien and sedition laws, 233, 238. 

Allenby, General, 644. 

Alsace-Lorraine, 586, 647. 

Amendments to the Constitution, I-X, 
226, 227; XIII, 438, 477; XIV, 452, 
453; XV, 458; XVI, 552; XVII, 
553; XVIII, 566; XIX, 568; text 
of, xvi-.\xi-, 

America, discovery of, 13, 16; naming 
of, 21. 

American Expeditionary Forces, 636, 
637. 

American Federation of Labor, 516, 
517. 

Amnesty Act, the, 458. 

Anatolian Railway, 594. 

Andre, Major, 192. 

Andros. Sir Edmund, 76, 77. 

Annapolis, tea ships burned at, 160; 
convention held in, 211. 

Antietam Creek, battle of, 408. 

Anti-Federalists, 216. 

Anti-Nebraska party, 372. 

Anti-slavery agitation, 314-316, 338. 
See also Abolitionists. 

Appalachians, the, a natural barrier, 
84; settlement of the western slope, 
101, 102. 

Appomattox Court House, 435, 436. 

Apprenticeship in colonial times, 121, 
122. 



Argonne Forest, battle of, 643. 

Arizona, early missions in, 84; ad- 
mitted to the Union. 493. 

Arkansas, visited by De Soto, 29; ad- 
mitted to the Union, 342; secession 
of, 391; political rights restored to, 
455. 

Armada, the, 33, 34. 

Armistead, Gen. Lewis A., 417. 

Arnold, Gen. Benedict, 190-193, 196. 

Arthur, Chester A., 496. 

Articles of Confederation, the, 204- 
206, 211. 

Ashe, John, 153. 

Astor, Fort, 274. 

Atlanta, destroyed by Sherman, 430. 

Atlantic cable, 563, 564. 

Attorney-general, 222. 

Augusta, 193. 

Austin, Moses, 323. 

Austin, Stephen F., 323. 

Australian ballot, introduction of, 504, 
505. 

Austria, position in the old German 
Empire, 578, 579; leading state in 
the German Confederation, 579, 
584; war with Prussia, 584. 

Austria-Hungary, rise of, 579-581; an- 
nexation of Bosnia and the Herze- 
govina, 594; a member of the Triple 
Alliance, 589, 594; revolution immi- 
nent after Balkan Wars, 597; ulti- 
matum to Serbia, 607, 608; begins 
the World War, 608; surrender of, 
644; dismemberment by Treaty of 
Versailles, 648. 

Austrian Succession, the War of, 98- 
100. 

Automobile, 562, 563. 

Bahama Islands, 13. 

"Balance of power," 92. 

Balboa, de, Vasco Nunez, 19. 

Balkan States, rise of, 588, 589; a 
source of continual trouble, 592- 
594; at war with Turkey, 595. 596; 
in the Second Balkan War, 596. 

Baltimore, troops attacked in, 391, 
392. 

Baltimore, Lord. See George Calvert. 

Baltimore and Ohio Railway, 307. 

Banks, Gen. N. P., 405. 

Baptist Church, the, 118. 

Barnard, Henry, 360. 

Barry, Commodore John, 198. 

Barton, Clara, 527. 

Bastille, the, 228, 229. 

Bean, William, 147. 

Beauregard, Gen. P. G. T., captures 
Fort Sumter, 389-391; at the battle 
of Manassas, 397, 398; at Shiloh 
Church, 402. 

Bee, Gen. Bernard E., 397. 

Belgium, creation of the kingdom of, 
577; neutrality of Belgium guaran- 
teed. 577, 578; invaded by the Ger- 
mans, 608, 609, 616. 

Bell, Alexander Graham, 565. 

Bell, John C, 382. 

Bering. Vitus, 247. 



INDEX 



Berkeley, Governor William, 69, 120. 

Berkman, Alexander, 658. 

Berlin-Bagdad Railway, 594, 595. 

Bessemer process of making steel, 564. 

Bicycle, 562. 

Bienville, de, Celoron, 102. 

Bienville, de, Le Moyne, 88, 89. 

Biloxi, 88. 

Bismarck, von, Prince Otto, ruthless 
policy of, 584; brings on the Seven 
Weeks' War, 584; organizes the 
North German Confederation, 585; 
desire for war with France, 585; 
terms imposed on France after 
Franco-Prussian War, 586; makes 
William I emperor, 587; forms the 
Triple Alliance, 589; deposed by 
Kaiser William II, 591. 

"Black death," the, 8. 

"Black hole of Calcutta," the, 100. 

Blanco, General, 527. 

Bland Bill, the, 485. 

"Blockade runners," 398, 399. 

Bolsheviki, the, obtain control of Rus- 
sia, 637, 638; principles of, 656; 
propaganda in the United States, 
656, 657; deportation of, 657, 658. 

Boone, Daniel, 146, 147. 

"Boone's trace," 147, 200. 

Booth, John Wilkes, 437. 

Bosnia and the Herzegovina, revolt 
of, 588; become a protectorate of 
Austria-Hungary, 589; annexation 
of, 594; assassination of Archduke 
Ferdinand in, 607. 

Boston, massacre in, 157, 158; tea 
dumped into the harbor of, 159, 
160; evacuation of, 171, 172. 

Boston News Letter, the, 123. 

Boston Port Bill, 160. 

Boundary disputes, Pennsylvania and 
Maryland, 81; Canada and the 
United States, 274, 460; the Louisi- 
ana Purchase, 275, 276; Oregon 
country, 332; Texas and Mexico, 
332; Texas and New Mexico. 343; 
Venezuela and British Guiana, 520, 
521. 

"Bounties," in the War of Secession, 
423. 

Bowie, James, 323. 

Boxer Rebellion, the, 537, 538. 
r>ozzaris, Marcos, 588. 

Braddock, General, 105. 

Bragg, Gen. Braxton, invades Ken- 
tucky, 403; at the battle of Stone 
River, 404; in the Chattanooga cam- 
paign, 423-425. 

Brandywine Creek, battle of, 187. 
Breckinridge, John C. 381, 382. 

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, 

515. 
Brown, John, in Kansas, 370, 371; 
seizes the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, 
377, 378. 
Brown, Moses, 296. 
Buchanan, James, elected president, 
372; administration of, 376, 384, 
388, 564. 
Buckner, Gen. Simon B., 401. 



Buell, Gen. D. C, 402, 403. 

Buena Vista, battle of, 334. 

Bulgaria, granted self-government, 
589; elects a German prince as its 
king, 594; defeated in Second Bal- 
kan War, 596; enters the World 
War, 622; surrender of, 644. 

Bunker Hill, battle of, 170, 171. 

Bureau of Forestry, 550. 

Bureau of Immigration, 479. 

Burgesses, House of, 44, 153, 161, 
295. 

Burgoyne, Gen. John, 188, 189. 

Burke, Edmund, 162. 

Burnside, Gen. Ambrose E., 408. 

Butler, Gen. B. F., 403, 412. 

Byrd, William, estate of, 42; library, 
122; opposition to slavery, 142. 

Cabinet, Washington's first, 222, 223. 

Cabot, John, 20. 

Cahokia, 89, 201. 

Calhoun, John C, enters Congress, 
258; position on the Omnibus Bill, 
344; views as to slavery, 359, 360; 
opposes the Tariff of 1828, 309. 

California, early missions in, 84; 
northern boundary, 274; Polk tries 
to buy from Spain, 333; proclaimed 
a republic, 335; gold discovered in, 
339-341; seeks admittance to the 
Union, 341, 342; admitted as a state, 
344; anti-Japanese legislation in, 
497. 

Calvert, George, 55. 

Calvert, Leonard, 5^. 

Calvin, John, 31. 

Camden, battle of, 193. 

Campos, General, 526. 

Canada, invasion of, 171; in the War 
of 1812, 260, 261, 263. 

Canadian boundary dispute, 460 • 

Canal building, 293, 294. 

Canal Zone, cession of, 544. 

Cantigny. fighting at, 641. 

Cantonments, 632, 633. 

Capitol, federal, location of, 225; burn- 
ing of, 263, 264. 

Carnegie, Andrew, 573. 

Carolina, grant of, 71; religious toler- 
ation in, 71, 72; made a royal prov- 
ince, 72; division of, 72. 

Carpenters' Hall, 161. 

"Carpetbaggers," the, 454. 

Carranza, Gen. Venustiano, 604, 605, 
659, 660. 

Carroll, Charles, 307. 

Carson, Kit, 330, 335. 

Carteret, Sir George, 74. 

Cartier, Jacques, 58. 

Cartwright's loom, 296. 

Cass, Gen. Lewis, 338. 

"Cavaliers," 69. 

Centennial Exposition, 469. 

Cervera, Admiral, 531. 532. 

Chalmette plantation, battle at. 265. 

Chambersburg, burning of, 428. 

Champion Hills, battle of, 420, 421. 

Champlain, de, Samuel, 59, 60, 62, 63. 

Charles I, 50, 51, 55, 68, 69. 



INDEX 



Charles II, 70, 76, 93, 143, 247. 
Charles Albert, 581-583. 
Charleston, founding of, 71; attacked 
by Spaniards, 95; library in, 122; 
commerce of, 139; tea destroyed in, 
160; threatened by Britisli, 172, 
173; captured by British, 193; taken 
by Federal forces, 434. 
Charleston and Hamburg Railway, 

308. 
Charlestown, 165, 166, 170. 
Charlotte, 175, 194. 
Chateau Thierry, battle of, 641. 
Chattanooga, battles around, 423-425. 
Cherokees, 314, 487. 
Chesaf'eakc and Shannon, 263. 
Chesapeake outrage, the, 251, 257. 
Chickamauga, battle of, 424. 
C hickasaws, 314, 487. 
Child labor, 364. 

China, spheres of influences in, 536; 
the Boxer Rebellion in, 537, 538; 
refuses to sign the Treaty of Ver- 
sailles, 648. 
Chinese E.xclusion Act, the, 496, 497. 
Choctaws, 314, 487. 
Church of England, origin of, 46; in 

the colonies, 117, 118. 
Cities in 1770, 129; growth of, 1790- 
1850, 350, 351; 1860-1910, 558, 55'J; 
modern ideas as to government of, 
569. 
Civil Rights Bill, 452. 
Civil service reform, 495, 496, 503. 
Civil War, the. See War of Secession. 
Clark, Elijah, 195. 
Clark, George Rogers, 201. 
Clark, William, 248. 
Clay, Henry, enters Congress, 258; se- 
cures the admission of Missouri, 
282; proposes gradual reduction of 
the tariff, 311; views as to slavery 
in New Mexico, 343; author of the 
Omnibus Bill, 343, 344; candidate 
for the presidency, 306. 
Clayton Anti-Trust Law, 602, 603. 
Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, 542. 
Clermont, the, 2S0. 

Cleveland, Grover, first administration 
of, 498, 500, 501; defeated for re- 
election, 503, 504; opposed to an- 
nexation of Hawaiian Islands, 510; 
second election to the presidency, 
512; second administration of, 520, 
521. 
Clinton, Gen. Henry, 191-193. 196. 
Clinton, Governor DeWitt, 292. 
Coal, development of soiithern fields, 
468; opening of mines in the West, 
483. 
Colonial crimes and punishment, 123, 

124. 
Colonial government, 126. 
Colonial land claims, conflicts in, 205. 
Colonial social life, 115-117. 
Colonial society, 112. 
Colonization, theories of, French, 61; 

English, 73. 
Colorado, admitted to the Union, 491, 
492; grants suffrage to women, 567. 
Columbia, burning of, 434. 



Columbia River, discovery of, 248. 
Columbus, Christopher, the man and 
his ideas, 13; struggles of. 14, 15; 
voyages across the Atlantic, 15-18; 
lands on San Salvador, 16. 
Columbus, Mexican outrage at, 60S. 
Commerce, colonial, 138, 139, 144; 

under the Confederation, 211. 
Committee of correspondence, 158, 

161. 
Committees of safety, 168, 174. 
"Commonwealth," the, 69. 
Compass, invention of, 9, 10. 
Compromise of 1850, 343, 344. 
Comstock silver lode, 476, 485. 
Concord, battle of, 166. 
"Conestoga wagon," 286. 
Confederate States of America, organ- 
ization of, 384, 385; attitude of 
North toward, 385; sends a com- 
mission to Washington, 388, 389; 
collapse of, 433-435; finances of, 
442, 443. 
Confederation, the New England, 103, 
104; of 1781, how formed, 204, 205; 
defects of, 205, 206, 210, 211. 
Confederation of German states, 579, 

584. 
Confederation of the Rhine, 579. 
Conflicting land claims, 205. 
Congregational Church, 53, 76, 118. 
Congress of Berlin, 588, 589. 
Congress of Vienna, 575, 577-578 581. 
Connecticut, settlement of, 55; Dutch 
trading posts in, 64, 65 ; secures a 
royal charter, 76; during the Revo- 
lutionary War, 174; threatens nulli- 
fication, 254. 
"Connecticut compromise," the, 214. 
Conscription, during the W'ar of Se- 
cession, 422, 423; during the war 
with Germany, 632, 651, 652. 
Conservation of natural resources, 550- 

552. 
Constantine, King, 594. 
Constantinople, fall of, 8. 
Constitution of the United States, 
drafting of, 213-216; ratification by 
the states, 216, 217; text of, iii- 
xxii. Sec also Amendments to the 
Constitution. 
Constitutional party, the, 382. 
Constitution and Guerricre, 261. 
Continental army, strength of, 170; 

condition of, 186, 189. 
Continental Congress, First, 161, 162; 

Second, 166, 167, 185, 190. 
Continental currency, 167, 209. 
Continental navy, 198. 
"Continental system," the, 252. 
"Contraband goods," 231. 
Cook, Capt. James, 247. 
Coolidge, Calvin, 661. 
Cooper, James Fenimore, 361. 
Copper, 483. 
Corinth, 402, 404. 
Cornwallis, Lord Charles, 185, 186, 

193-197. 
Coronado, de, Francisco, 30, 31. 
Cortez, Hernando, 27, 28. 
Cotton Centennial Exposition, 469, 



XXX 



INDEX 



Cotton-gin, 294. 

Cotton manufacturing, 269, 296, 297. 
468, 469. 

Cotton production, before the Revolu- 
tionary War, 294; effect of cotton- 
gin on, 295; during the War of Se- 
cession. 398; since 1865, 467. 

Cotton States and Industrial Exposi- 
tion, 469. 

County system of government, origin 
of, 126. 

Cowpens, battle of, 194. 

Cox, James M., 661, 662. 

Coxey, "General" Jacob S., 514. 

Creeks, the, attack Fort Mimms, 258; 
troubles with, 276; treaty for the 
removal of, 313. 

Crimean War, 588. 

"Crisis of the Revolution," the, 189. 

Crittenden, Senator J. J., 387. 

Crockett, David, 323. 

Crompton's mule, 296. 

Cromwell. Oliver, 69, 70. 

Crown Point, 106, 171. 

Crusades, the, 5, 6. 

Cuba, discovery of, 17, 18; attempt to 
purchase, 368; revolution in, 524; 
filibustering expeditions to, 524- 
provisional government established 
in, 525; proclaimed a republic, 525; 
bpanish cruelty in, 526; independ- 
ence recognized by the United 
Mates, 528; operations in, 531-533; 
ijpain withdraws from, 534; a pro- 
tec'orate of the United States, 534, 

Cunard Steamship Company, 357. 
Custer, Gen. George A., 488. 

"Dark and bloody ground," the, 146. 

Daughters of Liberty, 154 155 

Davjes Act, 488, 489. 

Davis, Jefferson, position on slavery 
in California, 344; secretary of war, 
367, 368; elected president of the 
Confederate States, 385; demands 
the surrender of Fort Sumter, 390; 
London bankers lose confidence in 
419; arrest of, 437; death of, 437: 
discontent with, 443. 

Dearborn, Fort, 261. 

Declaration of Independence, the, 174- 

"Declaration of Rights and Griev- 
ances," 161, 162. 

DeKalb, Baron Johann, 187. 

Delaware, Swedes settle in, 65; ceded 
to Wm. Penn, 79; made separate 
colony, 79; refuses to secede, 391; 
abolishes slavery, 452. 

Delaware, Lord, 41. 

Democratic party, origin of, 234, 235; 
favors tariff for protection, 270; 
splits into two factions, 282, 283; 
secures control of Congress in 1874. 
463. 

Democratic-Republicans, 234 235. 

De Soto, Hernando, 28-30. 

Detroit, 201, 246, 261. 

Dewey, Commodore George, 530, 531. 

Diaz, Bartholomew, 11. I 



Diaz, Porfirio, 603, 604. 

Dinwiddie, Governor, 102, 103. 

"Direct primary,'' the, 553. 

Dismal Swamp Canal, 294. 

"Dollar diplomacy," 554. 

Dominicans, the, declare their inde- 
pendence, 242. 

Donelson, Fort, capture of, 401. 

Douglas, Stephen A., 368, 369, 373- 
375, 381, 382. 

Draft riots, 422, 423. 

Drake, Sir Francis, 32, 33. 

Dred Scott decision, the, 373. 

Drunkenness, 363, 364. 

"Dual Alliance," the, 589, 590. 

Duquesne, Fort, 103, 106. 

Dutch East India Company, 62, 63. 

Dutch West India Company, 63, 64. 

Eads, Capt. James B., 466. 

Early, Gen. Jubal A., 428. 

Early geographical knowledge, 1. 

Early maps, 2. 

Early settlements, 84, 128, 129. 

East India Company, 37, 159. 

East Indian and Chinese trade, 248. 

Ebenezer, settlement of, 97. 

lidison, Thomas A., 564, 565. 

Education, in the colonies, 120, 121; 
progress to 1850, 360; development 
of state systems in the South, 470- 
472; progress, 1860-1910, 570-572. 

Election, of 1800, 238, 239; of 1816, 
272; of 1824, 283; of 1828, 303, 
304; of 1832, 306; of 1840, 320, 
321; of 1848, 338, 339; of 1852, 
367; of 1856, 372; of 1860, 381, 
382; of 1864, 432, 433; of 1872, 
458. 459; of 1876, 463-465; of 1888, 
503; of 1892, 511, 512; of 1896, 
522, 523; of 1900, 538, 539; of 1912, 
599, 600; of 1916, 614, 615; of 1920. 
661, 662. 

Electric light, the, 564, 565. 

Electric street-cars, 562. 

Eliot, Rev. John, 122. 

Elizabeth, Queen, 32, 33, 35, 37. 

Emancipation Proclamation, the, 413, 
414, 419. 

Embargo Act, 253, 254. 

Emigrant Aid Society, the, 370. 

Endicott, John, 51. 

English manor, plan of, 4. 

Episcopal Church. See Church of 
England. 

"Era of good feeling," 272. 

Ericson, Lief, 10, 11. 

Erie Canal, 292, 293. 
Erie, Lake, 61, 86. 

Factory system, the, 357, 358, 547. 

"Fall line," 137, 468. 

Farragut, Admiral D. G., 402, 403, 

432. 
"Far West," the. 475-477. 
Federal district, the, 225. 
Federalist. The. 217. 
Federalists, 216, 234, 235, 272. 
Federal reserve banking system, 602. 
Federal Trade Commission, 549. 
Ferdinand, Archduke, 607. 
Ferguson, Colonel, 193, 194. 



INDEX 



Field, Cyrus W., 563, 564. 

Fillmore, Millard, 344. 

Financial depression, after the War of 
1812, 269. 270; in 1819, 276-278; in 
1837, 311-313; in 1893, 512-514. 

Fisher, Fort, capture of, 432. 

F'isheries, Norse, 10; French, 20, 58; 
English, 20, 21; colonial, 132, 133. 

"Five civilized tribes," the, 487. 

"Five nations," the, 24, 60. 

Florida, discovery of, 28; attempts to 
colonize, 58; ceded to Great Britain, 
108; returned to Spain. 202; annex- 
ation of western part, 275; seized 
by Jackson, 276; purchase of, 276; 
admitted to the Union, 342; seces- 
sion of, 384; political rights re- 
stored to, 455; l-'ederal troops re- 
moved from, 465. 

"Florida parishes," the, 275. 

Foch, ^larshal Ferdinand, 639-643. 

I'oote, Commodore A. li., 402. 

"Force Bill," the, 458. 

"Forks of the Ohio," the, 102. 103. 

Forrest, Gen. Nathan B., 429. 

Fox, Charles, 195. 

France, supremacy of, 92; alliance 
with the United Colonies, 190, 191; 
proclaimed a republic, 229; seeks 
American aid, 230; anger over Jay's 
treaty, 231; close to war with the 
United States, 232, 233; attitude 
during the War of Secession, 418, 
419; tries to thwart Bismarck, 585; 
declares war on Germany, 585-587; 
restores the republic. 586; attitude 
on the Serbia difficulty, 608; mo- 
bilizes in defense of Russia, 608. 

Francis Joseph, 581. 608. 

Franco-Prussian War, the, 585-587. 

Franklin, Battle of, 431. 

Franklin, Benjamin, proposes a plan 
of vmion. 104; insists the colonies 
must stand together, 177; envoy to 
France, 186; helps negotiate the 
Treaty of Paris, 202. 

Franklin, the state of, 208. 

Fredericksburg, battle of, 408, 419. 

Freedmen. condition of, 448; John- 
son's policy toward, 451; educa- 
tional advantages provided for, 470, 
471, 472. 

Freedmen's Bureau, the, 453, 454. 

"Free Soil" party, the, 339. 

Fremont, John C, explorations of, 
331, 332; during the Mexican War, 
335; candidate for the presidency, 
372, 433; during the War of Seces- 
sion, 405. 

French and Indian War, the, 105- 
109. 

French colonization, methods of, 61, 
62. 

French Revolution, the, 228, 229. 

Friction between the states, 211; with 
the Spaniards, 243, 244. 

Friends, Society of, 77, 487. 

Frontier life, 286-288. 

Fugitive slave law, of 1792, 345; after 
the compromise of 1850, 346. 



Fulton. Robert, 290. 

Fur trade, 59. 61, 133-135, 247. 

"Gadsden Purchase," the, 336. 

Gage, Gen. Thomas, 160, 164, 166, 
170, 171. 

Gallatin. Albert, 241, 292. 

Gallipoli, the campaign in, 620-622. 

Galveston, destruction of, 569. 

Gama, de, Vasco, 12, 18. 

Garfield, James A., elected president, 
494; assassination of, 494, 4S5. 

Garibaldi. 583. _ 

Garrison,. William Lloyd, 314, 315, 
365, 387. 

Gates, Gen. Horatio, 188, 190, 193, 
194. 

General warrants, 153, 155. 

Genet, Citizen, 230. 

Genoa, 6. 

George I, 96. 

George 11. 104. 143. 

George III, 146, 148-150, 156, 157, 
160, 174, 197, 198. 202. 

George. Fort, 274. 

Georgia, visited by De Soto, 29; 
origin of name, 96; royal charter, 
97; early settlers in, 97; becomes a 
royal province, 98; slavery in, 142; 
assembly compelled to adjourn, 157; 
attitude toward First Continental 
Congress, 161; cession of western 
lands. 246, 313; the Creek lands dif- 
ficulty, 313; trouble with the Chero- 
kees, 314; establishes a university, 
360; secession of, 384; political 
rights restored to, 458. 

Germans, the, in Virginia, 129; in 
Pennsylvania, 146. 

Germany, revolution of 1848, 349, 
579; proclaimed an empire, 587; 
government of, 590; seeks domina- 
tion of the Near East, 594. 595; op- 
posed to a "greater Serbia." 596; 
effect of Second Balkan War on, 
597; attitude in the Austro-Serbian 
difficulty, 608; declares war on Rus- 
sia and France, 608; blockade of, 
609. 610; ruthless warfare of, 627; 
humiliation of Russia by, 638; in 
retreat on the western front, 643; 
deserted by her allies, 644; seeks an 
armistice, 644, 645; proclaimed a 
republic, 648. 

Gerry, Elbridge. 232. 

Gettysburg, battle of, 416; dedication 
of cemetery at, 417, 418. 

Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 34. 

Gladstone, William E., 215, 399. 

"Glorious revolution," the, 93. 

Gold discoveries, in California, 339- 
341; in Colorado, 376, 377; in 
Alaska, 523, 524. 

Goldman, Emma, 658. 

(^.oliad. battle of, 324. 

Good Hope, Cape of, 11, 12. 

Goodyear, Charles, 353, 354. 

Gordon, Gen. John B., 434. 435. 

Gorgas. Gen. William C. 544. 

Georges, Sir I'erdinand, 54. 



INDEX 



Ciorlice, capture of, 619. 

Governors' conference, the first, 550, 
551. 

"Grand alliance," the, 93. 

"Grand model," the, 71. 

Grant, Ulysses S., captures Forts 
Donelson and Henry, 400, 401; at 
the battle of Shiloh Church, 401, 
402; lays siege to Vicksburg, 419; 
opens up his "cracker line," 425; 
made lieutenant general, 426; de- 
vises a plan for ending the War of 
Secession, 426; in the Wilderness 
campaign, 427, 428; receives the 
surrender of Lee, 435, 436; elected 
president, 457; administration of, 
457, 458; the Indian policy of, 486- 
488. 

Orasse, de. Count Francois, 196, 197. 

Gray, Capt. Robert, 248. 

Great Britain, financial difficulties 
after the Seven Years' War, 150; 
recognizes the independence of the 
thirteen colonies, 202; closes West 
Indies to United States commerce, 
209, 210; fails to observe the Treaty 
of Paris, 230. 231; at war with the 
United States, 258-268; opposes 
Spain's recovery of her American 
colonies, 279; attitude during the 
War of Secession, 399, 414, 419; 
passage of Reform Bill, 577; op- 
posed to intervention in Belgium, 
578; attempts to preserve peace in 
Europe, 608; declares war on Ger- 
many, 609. 

"Great Law," the, 80. 

Great Meadows, 103. 

Greece, the winning of the independ- 
ence of, 588. 

Greeley, Horace, 384, 437, 459. 

"Greenbacks," 442. 

Greene, den. Nathanael, 194, 195, 196. 

"Green Mountain boys," the 188. 

Guam, ceded to the United States, 
534. 

Guilford Court House, 194, 195. 

(Jutenberg, 10. 

Guthrie, 490. 

Haig, Gen. Douglas, 640. 

Hail Columbia, 232. 

Haiti, Columbus attempts to colonize, 
18; I'nited States marines landed 
in, 606. 

Halleck, Gen. H. W.. 400, 402, 407. 

Hamilton, Alexander, delegate to the 
Annapolis convention, 211; joint au- 
thor of the Federalist papers, 217; 
secretary of the treasury, 222-226; 
leader of the Federalists, 234. 

Hamilton. General, 201. 

Hampton, Gen. Wade, 434. 

Hampton Normal and Industrial Insti- 
tute, the, 472. 

Hancock, John, 181. 

Harding, Warren G., elected presi- 
dent. 661, 662. 

Hargreavcs' spinning jenny, 296. 

Harnden, W. F.. 356. 



Harrison, Benjamin H., 489, 510. 

Harrison, William H., governor of 
Indiana Territory, 257, 258; in the 
War of 1812, 263; elected president, 
320. 321; death of, 321. • 

Hartford Convention, 267, 2( 

Harvard College, 121. 

Havana, 108. 

Hawaiian Islands, proclaimed a re 
public, 5C9, 510; annexation of, 538 
size of, 538. 

Hawkins, John, 31. 32. 

Hay, John, 536, 537. 

Hayes, Rutherford B., elected presi- 
dent, 463-465; administration of, 
465, 518; defeated for renomination, 
494. 

Haymarket Square riot, 518, 519. 

Hayne, Robert Y., 310. 

Hayne-Webster debate, 310, 311. 

Hennepin, Father, 86. 

Henry, Fort, capture of, 400, 401. 

Henry, Patrick, 143, 152, 153, 167, 
201. 

Henry of Navarre, 58, 59. 

Henry, Prince, the Navigator, 11. 

Hessian soldiers, 169, 175, 185. 186. 

Highways, improvement of, 563. 

Hindenburg, von, General, 616-618, 
638. 

Hobson, Lieut. Richmond P., 532. 

Hoe, Richard M., 353, 354, 573. 

Holland, rebellion in, 31, 62; mari- 
time supremacy of, 62; wars with 
England, 73, 93; attitude in Revolu- 
tionary War, 191. 

Holston Valley, settlement in, 147. 

"Holy Alliance," the, 278, 279, 576, 
577. 

"Homestead Act," the, 478, 479. 

Hood, Gen. John B., defense of At- 
lanta, 429; in Tennessee, 431, 432. 

Hooker, Gen. Joseph, made com- 
mander-in-chief, 408; at the battle 
of Chancellorsville, 414, 415; in the 
battle of Lookout Mountain, 425. 

Hooker, Reverend Thomas, 55. 

Hoover, Herbert, 635, 636. 

Hopkinson, Joseph, 232. 

Horseshoe Bend, battle of, 258. 

Houston, Sam, 323, 324. 

Howe, Elias. 351, 352. 

Howe, Gen. William, 172, 183 
185, 187, 188, 191. 

Hudson Bay, 95. 

Hudson Bay Company, the, 247. 

Hudson, Henry, 63. 

Hudson River, discovery of, 63. 

Huerta, Gen. Victoria, 604, 605. 

Hughes, Charles E., 614. 

Huguenots, 59, 71. 

Hull, Gen. William, 261. 

Huron, Lake, 59, 61. 

Hutchinson, Mrs. Anne, 54. 

Hutchinson, Governor Thomas, 157. 

Iberville, d', Le Moyne, 88. 

Idaho, admitted to the ITnion, 492; 

grants woman suffrage, 567. 
Illiteracy Act, the, 561. 



: I 



184, 



INDEX 



Illiteracy, reduction in southern, 471; 
in the war with Germany, 651. 

Immigration, early, 348-350; after the 
War of Secession, 479, 480; from 
1890 to 1913, 558, 559; restrictions 
on, 560, 561; from Germany, 579, 
584; demand for more restrictions, 
658. 

"Imperialism," 538, 539. 

Impressment of sailors, 251. 

Income tax, during the War of Seces- 
sion, 442; proposed by the Popu- 
lists, 511; legalized by constitutional 
amendments, 552; the law of 1913, 
602. 

Indentured servants, 42, 43, 141. 

Independence Hall, 176. 

Independent treasury, creation of, 317. 

India, 100, 101. 

Indiana, territorial government organ- 
ized, 246. 

Indians, tribes of, 24; life and char- 
acter of, 24-26; difficulties with, 
257, 258, 486-489; lands belonging 
to, 246, 247, 257; removal to Indian 
Territory, 313, 314; reservations 
established for, 486, 487. 

Indian Territory, 313, 314, 493. 

Industrial Workers of the World, 657. 

"Insurgents," the, 554, 555, 599. 

Internal revenue taxes, first imposed, 
226, 227; repealed by the Demo- 
crats, 241; refused during the War 
of 1812, 260; in the War of Seces- 
sion, 442; in the War with Ger- 
many, 633, 634. 

Interstate Commerce Commission, the 
499, 500. 

"Intolerable Acts," the, 160. 

Inventions, 351-354, 564-566. 

Iowa, admitted to the Union, 342. 

Iron industry, in the colonies, 138; 
development of, 269, 354, 564. 

Iroquois, tribes of, 24, 60; during the 
Revolutionary War, 200. 

Irving, Washington, 361. 

Isabella, Queen, 14, 15, 17. 

Island Number "Ten," capture of, 
402. 

Isthmian Canal, French attempt to 
construct, 542, 543; authorized by 
Congress, 543; construction of, 544, 
545. 

Italia Irredenta, 584, 622. 

Italy, in the fifteenth century, 20; 
unification of, 581-584; a member of 
the Triple Alliance, 589, 608; de- 
clares war on Austria-Hungary, 622, 
623; disappointment at the peace 
congress, 648. 

Jackson, Andrew, in the Creek War 
258; at the battle of New Orleans 
265, 266; seizes Florida, 276; de 
feated for the presidency, 283 
elected president, 303, 304; charac 
ter of, 304; administration of, 305 
314; refuses a third term, 316; de 
sire to annex Texas, 325. 



Jackson, Gen. Thomas J., at the bat- 
tle of Manassas, 397, 398: dash for 
Washington, 405; death of, 415. 

James I. 37, 38, 43, 46. 

James II, 76, 93. 

Jamestown Colony, founding of, 38, 
39; early history, 39-41; labor situa- 
tion in, 43; government of, 43, 44. 

Jamestown Tercentennial Exposition, 
470. 

Japan, treaty with, 368; trouble threat- 
ens with, 497, 498; becomes of- 
fended at the peace congress, 648. 

Jasper, Sergeant William, 173. 

Jay, John, helps negotiate the Treaty 
of Paris, 202; joint author of the 
Federalist papers, 217; appointed 
chief justice, 223; negotiates a 
treaty with Great Britain, 231. 

Jefferson, Thomas, drafts the Declara- 
tion of Independence, 176; ap- 
pointed secretary of state, 222; be- 
comes leader of the Democrats, 234; 
elected president, 239; simplicity of, 
240, 241; administration of, 241- 
254; pucchases Louisiana, 244-246; 
refuses a third term, 254; opposed 
to slavery, 273; designs the Univer- 
sity of Virginia, 360, 361. 

Jenkins, William O., 660. 

Jerusalem, capture of, 644. 

Joffre, Marshal Joseph J. C, 616. 

Johnson, Andrew, nominated for the 
vice-presidency, 433; early life of, 
450; reconstruction policy of, 450, 
451; impeachment of, 456; compels 
withdrawal of French troops from 
Mexico, 459, 460. 

Johnston, Gen. Albert Sidney, 402. 

Johnston, Gen. Joseph E., at the bat- 
tle of Seven Pines, 404, 405; de- 
feated at Jackson, 420; in north 
Georgia, 429; attempts to join Lee, 
433, 434; surrender of, 437. 

Joliet, Louis, 85. 

Junes, John Paul, 200. 

Kansas, visited by Coronado, 30; race 
for settlement of, 369, 370; slavery 
legalized, 370; rival government 
established in, 370, 371; grants 
women limited suffrage, 567. 

"Kansas-Nebraska Act," the, 368, 369. 

Kaskaskia, 89, 201. 

Kearny, Gen. Stephen W., 335. 

Kentucky, created a county, 200; ad- 
mitted to the Union, 228; enacts 
resolutions setting up the doctrine 
of nullification, 234; attitude toward 
the Confederacy, 392; invaded by 
Bragg, 403; abolishes slavery, 452. 

Kerensky, 626. 

Key, David M., 465. 

Key, Francis Scott, 264. 

King George's War, 98, 99. 

King Philip's War, 104. 

King William's War, 93, 94. 

King's Mountain, battle of, 193, 194. 

Knights of Labor, 515, 516. 

Knox, Gen. Henry, 222. 



INDEX 



Kosciusko, Thaddeus, 187. 
Ku-Klux Klan, 456-458. 

Labor party, the, 459. 

Labor unions, origin of, 358, 359; op- 
posed to Chinese immigration, 496, 
497; growth of, 515; insist on 
closed shops, 516; invaded by Bol- 
sheviki propaganda, 656, 657. 

Labrador, discovery of, 10, 11. 

"Lady" Rebecca, 40. 

La Espaiiola, 17, 18. 

Lafayette, de. Marquis, 187, 189, 196. 

Land grants to aid public schools, 
206, 207; to encourage railway build- 
ing, 355, 482; to establish colleges of 
agriculture, 570. 

La Salle, de, Robert Cavalier, Sieur, 
86-88. 

Laurens, Henry, 202. 

Lawrence, burning of, 370. 

Lawrence, Capt. James, 263. 

"League of Nations" covenant, 649, 
650. 

Lee, Gen. Charles, 185, 191. 

Lee, Richard Henry, 175. ' 

Lee, Robert E., captures John Brown, 
in, 378; becomes commander of 
Confederate armies, 405; in the bat- 
tle of Seven Pines, 405; invades 
Pennsylvania, 415; at the battle of 
Gettysburg, 416; opposes Grant in 
the "Wilderness," 426, 427; the de- 
fense of Richmond, 433-435; sur- 
render of, 435. 436. 

"Legal tender" laws, 210, 442. 

Lemberg, 617, 619. 

Lenine, 638, 656. 

Lesseps, de. Count Ferdinand, 542, 
543. 

Letters of Marque, 199. 

Lewis and Clark Centennial, 491. 

Lewis and Clark Expedition, 248, 249. 

Lewis, Capt. Meriwether, 248. 

Lexington, battle of, 165, 166. 

"Liberal Republicans," 459. 

Liberator, The, 315. 

"Liberty party," the, 338. 

Libraries, in the colonies, 122; growth 
of public, 572, 573. 

Lincoln, Abraham, debates with Doug- 
las, 373-375; elected president, 381, 
382; opposes any compromise with 
the South, 387; inauguration of, 
387, 389; causes the attack on Fort 
Sumter, 389, 390; calls for volun- 
teers, 391; threatens to free the slaves, 
412, 413; issues Emancipation Proc- 
lamation, 413, 414; his address at 
Gettysburg, 417, 418; opposition to 
his policies, 432, 433; assassination 
of, 437, 438; views as to reconstruc- 
tion, 449; the amnesty policy of, 
449, 450. 

"Line of demarcation," 17. 

Literature, rise of American, 361. 

Livingston, Robert, 244, 245. 

Locke, John. 71. 

London Company, the, 37, 40, 41, 47. 

Long, Dr. Crawford W., 353. 



Long Island, battle of, 183. 

Longstreet, Gen. James, 424. 

Lookout Mountain, battle of, 425. 

Los Angeles, capture of, 335. 

Louis XIV, 93, 94. 

Louis XVI, 186, 190, 228-230. 

Louis XVIII, 575. 

Louisburg,' capture of, 99; restored to 
France, 99; destruction of, 106. 

Louisiana, visited by De Soto, 29; di- 
vided by Treaty of Paris, 108; ces- 
sion of French portion to Spain, 
108; Spanish Louisiana returned to 
France, 241; purchase of, 245; ter- 
ritory of Louisiana created, 246; 
boundary in dispute, 275; Florida 
parishes annexed to, 275; celebrates 
the battle of New Orleans, 303, 304; 
secession of, 384; political rights re- 
stored to, 455. 

Louisiana Purchase Exposition, 491. 

Louis Napoleon. See Napoleon III. 

Louis Philippe, 577. 

L'Ouverture, Gen. Touissaint, 242. 

"Loyalists," the, 167, 168, 172. 

Ludendorff, General, 638-640. 

Lumbering, in the colonies, 131; in 
the Southern States, 469; wasteful 
methods of, 550. 

Lusitania, S. S., sinking of, 611, 612. 

Luther, Martin, 31. 

Mackensen, von. General, 618. 

Madero, Francisco, 604. 

Madison, James, joint author of the 
Federalist papers, 217; administra- 
tion of, 256-270; attitude toward in- 
ternal improvements, 292. 

Magazines, 362, 363, 573. 

Magellan, Fernando, 19, 20. 

Maine, made a part of Massachusetts, 
77; invaded by British, 267; ad- 
mitted to the Union, 282; enacts 
first prohibition law, 364. 

Maine. The, destruction of, 527, 528. 

Malvern Hill, battle of, 406. 

Manassas, first battle of, 397, 398; 
second battle of, 407. 

Mantleville, Sir John, 1. 

Manhattan Island, 63, 64. 

Manhood suffrage, in Kentucky and 
Tennessee, 297; rapid spread of, 
298. 

Manila, 108. 530, 531. 

Mann, Horace, 360. 

Manual training, 571. 

Manufacturing, in the fifteenth cen- 
tury, 7, 8; colonist, 136-138; growth 
of, 268, 269. 

Manufacturing Act, the, 151. 

Marco Polo, 1. 

Marconi, Signor, 565. 

Marcos, Fray, 30. 

Marcy, Senator, William L., 305. 

Marie Antoinette, 230. 

Marietta, battle at, 209. 

Marion, Francis, 195. 

Marne, the, battle of, 616. 

Marquette, Father, 85. 



INDEX 



XXXV 



Marshall, John, envoy to France, 231, 
232; appointed chief justice, 241. 

Maryland, founding of, 56; govern- 
ment in, 56; position during the 
Commonwealth, 69, 70; indentured 
servants in, 141; assembly forced 
by governor to adjourn, 157; the 
"grand idea" of, 205; ratified the 
articles of Confederation, 205; pre- 
vented from secession by Federal 
forces, 391, 392; slavery abolished 
in, 414. 

Mason, James M., 399. 

Mason, John, 54. 

"Mason and Dixon's line," 80, 81, 
280. 

Massachusetts, founding of the colony, 
51, 52; early government, 52; in- 
dustrial growth of, 52, 53; intoler- 
ance in, 53; troubles with the 
Dutch, 65; royal province, 76; pro- 
vides for public schools, 120; rati- 
fication of the Constitution by, 
217; enacts nullification resolutions, 
254; threatens to secede, 326. 

Massachusetts general court, 52, 120, 
133, 153, 157. 

Matagorda Bay, 87. 

Matamoros, battle of, 333. 

Maurepas, Fort, 88. 

Maximilian, Emperor, 418, 459, 460. 

"Mavflower compact," the, 48-50. 

McAdoo. William G., 634. 

McClellan, (Jen. George B., appointed 
commander-in-chief, 397, 398; the 
Peninsula campaign of, 404-407; at 
the battle of Antietam Creek, 408; 
nominated for the presidency, 433. 

McCormick, Cyrus, 352. 

McDowell, Gen. Irvin, 397, 404, 405. 

McHenry, Fort, 264. 

McKinley, William, author of the Mc- 
Kinley tariff, 506, 507; elected pres- 
ident, 522, 523; administration of, 
524, 527-538; assassination of, 539. 

Meade, Gen. George G., 416, 417. 

"Mecklenburg Convention," the, 175. 

Mennonites, the, 119. 

Merrimac, The, sinking of. 532. 

Methodist Church, the, 118. 

Metternich, von. Prince, 579, 580. 

Mexico, conquest of, 27; secures inde- 
pendence, 322; confirms grant made 
Austin, 323; repudiates the treaty 
with Texans, 325; at war with the 
United States, 333-336; invaded by 
French troops, 418; proclaimed an 
empire, 418; revolutions in, 459, 
460. 604. 605; during the Diaz dic- 
tatorship, 603, 604; invaded by 
United States troops, 605; intrigue 
with Germany. 613; troubles with 
the United States. 659, 660. 

Mexico Citv, fighting around, 334, 
335. 

Michigan, territorial government or- 
ganized, 246; admitted into the 
Union. 342. 

Michigan, Lake, 61. 

"Middle Ages." the, 2-5. 



Miles. Gen. Nelson A., 533, 534. 

Mills, Roger Q., 501. 

Mimms, Fort, 258. ' 

Minnesota, admitted to the Union, 
375. 

Mint, established at Philadelphia, 226. 

Minuit, Governor Peter, 64. 

"Minute mon," 164. 

Missionary Ridge, battle of, 425. 

Mississippi, visited by De Soto, 29; 
organized as a territory, 246; seces- 
sion of, 384; political rights restored 
to, 458. 

Mississippi River, discovery of, 29; 
settlements in the valley of, 89; 
closed to Americans by Spanish, 
243; first steamboat on, 291; im- 
provement of, 465, 466. 

Missouri, slavery permitted in, 281; 
struggle over admission to the 
Union, 281, 282; prevented from se- 
ceding by federal forces, 392; slav- 
ery abolished in, 414. 

"Missouri Compromise," the, 281, 282, 
369, 373. 

Mobile, founding of, 88; capture of, 
432. 

Modocs, the, 487, 488. 

Monasteries, 3, 10. 

Money, in the colonies, 142-144. 

Montana, admitted to the Union, 492. 

Monmouth, battle of, 191. 

Monroe, James, envoy to France, 245; 
administration of, 272-280. 

"Monroe Doctrine," the, 279, 280, 418, 
459, 520, 521. 

Montcalm, de, Marquis Louis J., 107, 
108. 

Montdidier, fighting at, 641. 

Montenegro, 589. 

Monterey, battle of, 333, 334. 

Montreal, 58, 59. 

Moravians, the, 119. 

Morgan, Gen. Daniel, 194. 

Mormons, the, 375, 376, 492. 

Morrill Act, the, 570. 

Morris, Robert, 186. 

Morse, Samuel F. B., 352, 353, 563. 

Moultrie, Col. William, 172, 173. 

Moultrie, Fort, 390. 

Murfreesboro, battle of, 404. 

Xaples, Kingdom of, 581, 583. 

Napoleon Bonaparte, concludes peace 
with United States, 232, 233; mas- 
ter of Europe, 241, 242; war with 
Great Britain, 245; sells Louisiana 
to United States, 245; seizes mer- 
chantmen from United States, 256, 
257; attitude toward the Spanish- 
American colonies, 278; abdication 
of, 575; return from Elba, 575, 576; 
exiled to St. Helena, 576; creator 
of the Confederation of the Rhine, 
579; attack on Austria, 581. 



INDEX 



Napoleon III, sends troops to Mexico, 
418; desire to aid the Confederate 
States, 419; forced to withdraw 
troops from Mexico, 459; supports 
the Pope, 583; willingness for war 
with Prussia, 585, 586; capture of. 
586. ' 

Narvaez, de, Pamfilo, 28. 
Nashville, battle of, 431, 432. 
Natchez, 303. 

National Assembly, the, 229, 230. 
National bank system, 443, 444. 
National debt, after War of 1812, 

267; in 1865, 441. 
"National highway," the, 289, 290. 
National political conventions, 316. 

317. 
"National Union" party, 433. 
National Women's Suffrage Associa- 
tion, 567, 568. 
Navigation Acts, 7Z, 138, 139. 
Near East, the, German domination 
of, 594, 595; effect of Treaty of 
Bucharest on, 597. 
Nebraslia, admitted to the Union, 491. 
Nevada, admitted to the Union, 477. 
New Amsterdam, 64. 
New England Council, 51. 
New England Primer, 122. 
Newfoundland, granted to Gilbert, 34; 
colonization attempted, 55; tishing 
settlements established, 58; ceded to 
England, 95. 
New France, 59, 61, 108. 
New Hampshire, early settlements in 
54; joined to Massachusetts, 54 
made a separate colony, 54 77, 
popular disturbances in, 158; adopts 
a constitution, 174; ratification of 
the United States . Constitution by. 
217. 
New Haven Colony, founding of, 55; 

annexed to Connecticut, 76. 
New Jersey, origin of name, 74; di- 
vided into two parts, 75; made a 
royal province, 75; attitude in the 
constitutional convention, 213. 
New Mexico, early missions in, 84; 

admitted to the Union, 493. 
New Netherlands, 63-65, 73, 74. 
New Orleans, founding of, 89; re- 
tained by France, 108; ceded to 
Spain, 108; importance of its pos- 
session to the United States, 242- 
244; battle of, 265, 266; reception to 
Andrew Jackson, 304; capture of, 
402, 403 ; commercial growth of, 
466. 
Nexv Orleans, The, 291. 
Newspapers, colonial, 123; develop- 
ment of. 361, 362, 573. 
New York, origin of name, 74; a 
royal province, 75; distribution of 
settlers in 1770, 128; early schools 
in, 121; suffrage granted women, 
568. 
New York City, appearance in 1770, 
129, 130; destruction of tea in, 160; 
strategical position in the Revolu- 
tionary War. 183; effect of Erie 



Canal on, 292, 293; population in 
1910, 559. 

New York Sun. the, 362. 

Nez Perces, the, 488. 

Niagara, Fort, 106. 

Non-importation agreements, 162. 

Non-Intercourse Act, 254, 256, 257. 

Nootka Sound, 247. 

Norsemen, tlie, 10. 

North, Lord, 162, 197, 198. 

North American Review, tlie, 362. 

North Carolina, early settlements in, 
70, 72; settlement of the uplands, 
129; authorized a declaration of in- 
dependence, 175; ratification of the 
United States Constitution, 227, 
228; a university established in, 
360; secession of, 391; political 
rights restored to, 455. 

North Dakota, admitted to the Union 
492; enacts a referendum law, 568*. 

i\orthern Securities Company, the, 
548, 549. 

North German Confederation, the. 

Northwest Territory, the, 205-207 
246. ' 

Nullification, 234, 254, 310, 311. 

"Obnoxious acts," the, 150-152 
Obregon, (ien. Alvaro. 660, 66l' 
Occupations of the colonists, li30. 
Oglethorpe, James E., 96-98. 
Ohio, admitted to the Union, 246; re- 
strictions imposed on negroes' in, 

Ohio Company, the, 102, 209. 

Oklahoma, opened for settlement, 489 
490; admitted to the Union 49?' 
493. ' 

"Old Hickory," 304. 

"Omnibus Bill," the, 344. 

"Open door" policy, 536, 537. 
Open shop" system, 516. 

Orders in council, 252, 256. 

Ordinance of 1787, 206, 207. 

Oregon, admitted into the ITnion, 375; 
enacts an initiative and referendum 
law, 568. 

Oregon county, claimed by both Spain 
and Great Britain, 247, 248; basis 
of the United States claims to, 250: 
the joint occupancy arrangement, 
274, 329; early settlements in, 329, 
330; annexation of, 332. 

Oregon. The. 531. 

"Oregon trail," the, 329, 330. 

Orleans Territory, 246. 

"Ostend manifesto," the, 368. 

Otis, James, 153, 157. 

Pacificists, the, 610. 

Pacific Ocean, origin of name, 19; dis 

covery of, 19. 
Pago Pago, 508. 

Pakenham, Sir Edward M., 265, 266. 
Pains. 15. 16. 



INDEX 



Panama, Isthmus of, discovery, 18, 
19; railroad across, 340; proclaimed 
a republic, 542; independence rec- 
ognized by the United States, 543; 
cedes the Canal Zone, 544. 

"Pan-Germanic scheme." the, 591, 
592. 

Panic of 1819, 276-278; of 1837, 311- 
313; of 1893, 512-514. 

Parcel post, 561. 

Parliament, 148, 149. 

"Parson's Case," the, 143. 

"Patroon system," the, 64, 65. 

Paupers, treatment of English, 42. 

Pawtucket, 296. 

Peabody, George, 471, 472. 

Peabody Normal College, 471, 472. 

Pea Ridge, battle of, 400. 

Pemberton, Gen. John C, 419-421. 

Peninsula campaign, the, 404-407. 

Penn, William, 77-80. 

Pennsylvania, origin of name, 78; 
early history of, 81; colonial schools 
in, 121; distribution of settlements 
in 1770, 128. 

Pensacola, visited by Iberville, 88; 
captured bv French, 89; seized by 
Jackson, 27'6. 

Pensions, 507. 

Perry, Commodore Matthew C, 368. 

Perry, Commodore Oliver H., 262, 
263. 

Perryville, battle of, 403. 

Pershing, Gen. John J., commander 
of Mexican punitive expedition, 
60S; in command of American Ex- 
peditionary Forces in France, 636, 
637; at the battle of St. Mihiel, 
642, 643; in the battle of Argonne 
Forest, 643. 

Personal liberty laws, 345. 

Peru, conquest of, 28. 

Petersburg, besieged by Grant, 427, 
428; evacuation of, 435. 

Petition, Congress refuses to receive. 
316. 

Petroleum, discovery of, 377. 

Philadelphia, founding of, 79; growth 
of. 81; population in 1770, 129; 
holds a day of public mourning, 
161. 

Philip II, 33. 

Philippines, the, discovery of, 20; cap- 
tured by Dewey, 530, 531; ceded to 
the United States, 534; insurrection 
in, 535, 536; government of, 536; 
size. 538. 

Phillips, Wendell, 365. 

Photography, 353. 

Pickens, Andrew, 195. 

Pickett, Gen. George E., 417. 

Pierce, Franklin, administration of, 
367. 368. 

Pierre du Guast, Sicur de Monts, 59. 

Pike, Zebulon M., 249, 250, 330. 

Pilgrims, migration to Holland, 47; 
the American venture, 47, 48. 

Pinchot, Gifford, 550. 

Pinckney, Charles C., 232. 

"Pine tree shillings," 143. 



Pitcairn, Major John, 166. 

Pitt, William, 106, 149, 150, 153-155. 

Pittsburgh Landing, battle of, 402. 

Pizarro, Francisco, 28. 

Plymouth Colony, founding of, 50; 
union with Massachusetts, 77. 

Plymouth Company, the, 37. 

Pocahontas, 40. 

Poison gas in warfare, 618. 

Polk, Tames K., administration of, 
330-337. 

Polygamy, 492. 

Ponce de Leon, Juan, 28. 

Pony express, the, 356. 

"Pools,'; 499, 546, 547. 

Poor Richard's Almanac, 123. 

Pope, Gen. John, 402, 407, 408. 

Population, in 1770, 128, 130; slaves 
in 1770, 142; growth from 1789 to 
1820, 280, 281; growth from 1820 
to 1850. 348; of the Far West, 476, 
•477; mcreases from 1860 to 1910, 
558; movement of center of, 560. 

Populist party, the, organization of, 
486; in the election of 1892, 511- 
512; opposed to repeal of Sherman 
Act, 514. 

Porter, Commodore David D., 419, 
420. 

Port Gibson, battle of, 420. 

Port Hudson, fall of, 421. 

Porto Rico, invasion of, 533, 534; 
ceded to the LTnited States, 534; 
government of, 535; size, 538. 

Port Royal, 59, 93, 94, 95. 

Portugal, 62. 

Portuguese, discoveries of, 11, 12. 

Postage stamps, 356. 

Postal system, colonial, 125, 126; ex- 
pansion of, 355, 356. 

Preemption Act, the, 478. 

Presbyterian Church, the, 118. 

President, the, how elected originally, 
237; since 1804, 239, 240. 

President and Little Belt, 257. 

"Pretender," the, 94, 95. 

Pribilof Islands, 507, 508. 

Printing, invention of, 10; first print- 
ing press in the LTnited States, 122. 

Prison reform, 363. 

Privateers, during the Revolutionary 
War, 199; in the War of 1812, 261, 
262. 

"Proclamation Line," the, 146, 200. 

Progressive party, the, 599. 

Prohibition, first state-wide law, 364; 
repeal of jirohibition laws after the 
War of Secession, 459; advance- 
ment of. 566. 

Prohibition party, the, 459, 566. 

Promontory Point, 481, 482. 

Protestantism, 31. 

Providence Plantations, the, 54. 

Prussia, rise of, 579; William I be- 
comes king, 584; expansion under 
Bismarck, 584, 585. 

Public lands, first survey of, 206; 
methods of settlement, 478, 479, 

Public utilities, 511. 

Puebla, battle of, 334, 



INDEX 



Pulaski, Count Casiniir, 187. 
Puritans, the, 46, 51. 

Quakers, in New Jersey, 75; in Vir- 
ginia, 70, 71; in Massachusetts, 11; 
in England, 11. 

Quartering Act, the, 160. 

Quebec, founding of, 59; description 
of, 107; captured by the British, 
107, 108; attacked, by a Continental 
army, 171. 

Quebec Act, the, 160. 

Queen Anne's War, 94, 95. 

Queenstown Heights, battle of, 261. 

"Radical Republicans," the, 433. 

Railways, early, 306-309; increase 
from 1830 to 1850, 354, 355; popu- 
lar discontent with, 498, 499; ef- 
forts to regulate, 500; development 
from 1860 to 1910, 561; influence of 
the Bessemer process on, 564; 
placed under government control, 
634. 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 34. 35. 

Randolph, Edmund, 222. 

"Recall," the, 568, 569. 

Reclamation Act, the, 483. 

Reconstruction, the problem of, 449; 
President Johnson's plan, 451; the 
Congressional plan, 451, 452; condi- 
tions in the South during, 454-456. 

"Referendum," the, 568. 

"Reform Bill," the, 577. 

"Regicides," the, 75, 76. 

"Regulating Act," the, 160. 

"Regulators," the, 158, 159. 

"Reign of terror," the, 229, 230. 

Religion in the colonies, 117. 

Religious oppression in England, 46, 
51, 55, 91. 

Renaissance, the, 9, 10. 

Republicans, the original, 234. 

Republican party, organization of, 
371, 372; split during the War of 
Secession, 433; the split of 1872, 
459; rise of the "Insurgents," 554, 
555; the split in 1912, 599. 

"Restoration," the, 70. 

Revolution in England, the, 68, 69. 

Rhode Island, founding of, 54; the 
royal charter of, 76; government 
during the Revolutionary War, 174; 
ratification of the Constitution by, 
227, 228. 

Rice growing, 98, 141, 142. 

Richmond, evacuation of, 435. 

"Rivers and Harbors Act," 506. 

Roanoke Island, 35. 

Robertson, James, 147. 

Rochambeau, de. Count, 196. 

Roman Catholic Church, the, during 
the Middle Ages, 3; in Maryland, 
56, 69, 119; forbidden in (Jeorgia, 
97; missionary efforts in the .South- 
west, 83, 84; influence in Middle 
West, 84, 85; effect of the Quebec i 
Act on. 160. 

Roman Empire, 3, 1 



Rome, seized by Napoleon Bonaparte, 
581; made capital of the Kingdom 
of Italy, 583. 

Roosevelt, Franklin D., 661. 

Roosevelt, Theodore, during the Span- 
ish-American War, 533; succeeds 
to the presidency, 540; char- 
acter of, 541, 542; the Panama 
coup, 543, 544; efforts to end the 
Russo-Japanese War, 545, 546; 
wages war on the trusts, 548; inter- 
vention in the coal strike, 549, 550; 
conservation policy of, 550-552; 
leader of the "Insurgents," 599; in- 
tervention in San Domingo affairs, 
605. 

Rosecrans, Gen. William S., 404 423- 
425. 

"Rotten boroughs," 148, 149. 

"Rough Riders," the, 533. 

Roumania, secures independence, 589; 
elects a German prince as king, 
594; position in the World War, 
624. 

"Roundheads," the, 69. 

Royal African Company, the, 141. 

Rum, 138. 

Rupert, Prince, 247. 

Russia, establishes trading posts in 
Alaska, 247; yields to the Monroe 
Doctrine, 329; sells Alaska to the 
United States, 460; ambition to con- 
trol Constantinople, 588; hatred for 
Germany, 589; a member of the 
dual alliance, 589, 590; protests 
against annexation of Bosnia and 
the Herzegovina, 594; mobilizes in 
defense of Serbia, 608; part in the 
World War, 616-620, 624, 625; revo- 
lution in, 625, 626. 

Russo-Japanese War, 545, 546. 

Sacajawea, 249. 

Sacramento. 339, 340. 

St. Augustine, founding of, 31; im- 
portance of, 93; attacked by South 
Carolinians, 95. 

St. Helena, 576. 

St. Lawrence River, discovery of, 58; 
settlements established along, 59. 

St. Leger, General, 188. 

St. Marks, 276. 

St. Mihiel, 642, 643. 

St. Pierre and Miquelon, 108. 

"Salary grab act," the, 462. 

Sanioan Islands, placed under a joint 
protectorate, 508, 509; Tutuila 
ceded to the United States, 509, 
538. 

Sampson, Rear Admiral William T., 
531. 

San Jacinto, battle of, 324. 

San Salvador, 13, 16. 

Santa Anna, General, 323, 324. 

Santa Fe, founding of, 31; capture 
of, 335. 

Santa Fe trail, the, 331. 

Santee Canal, 294. 

Santiago, sinking of the Merrimac at, 
532; capture of, 532, 533, 



INDEX 



Santo Domingo, Roosevelt intervenes 
in affairs of, 605; treaty with, 605, 
606; United States marines landed, 
606. 

Saratoga, battle of, 188, 189. 

Saturday Evening Post, The, 573. 

Savannah, founding of, 97; captured 
by thq British, 193; captured by 
Sherman, 430. 

Savannah, The, 356. 

Scalawags, the, 454. 

Schleswig and Holstein, 479, 480, 584. 

Schley, Commodore W. S., 531, 532. 

Schofield, Clen. Tohn McA., 431. 

Schools lands, 207, 570. 

Schools, the Dutch in New York, 75, 
121; the first public in America, 
120; federal aid to, 207; consolida- 
tion of, 571, 572; free text-books in, 
572. 

.Schuyler, Gen. Philip J., 190. 

Scotch-Irish settlers, in the Carolinas, 
71; in Virginia, 129; in western 
Pennsylvania, 146. 

Scott, Gen. Winfield, ordered to 
Charleston, 311; lands at Vera 
Cruz, 334; campaign against Mexico 
City, 334, 335; candidate for the 
presidency, 367. 

Seals, trouble with Great Britain 
over, 507, 508. 

"Sea of Darkness," the, 2. 

Selective Service Act, the, 632. 

Seminoles, the, 276, 487. 

Semmes, Capt. Raphael, 409. 

"Separatists," the, 46, 47. 

Serbia, secures independence, 589; 
commercial barriers, 5''2. 594; am- 
bition for a "greater Serbia," 594, 
595; the difficulty with Austria- 
Hungary, 607, 608; overrun by Ger- 
man troops, 622. 

Serfs, 4, 8. 

Seven Days' Battle, the, 405-407. 

"Seven great cities," the, 30. 

Seven Pines, battle of, 405. 

Seven Weeks' War, the, 583, 584, 
586. 

Seven Years' War, the, 104, 150. 

Sevier, John, 147, 208. 

Sewing machines, 351, 352. 

Shafter, Gen. W. R., 532. 

Shantung Peninsula, the, 591, 648. 

"Shay's rebellion," 210. 

Sheridan, Gen. Philip H., 428, 435. 

Sherman, Gen. W. T., at siege of 
Vicksburg, 419; "on to Atlanta," 428, 
429; the march to the sea, 429; in 
the Carolinas, 434, 435. 

Sherman Anti-Trust Law, the, 548. 

Sherman Silver Act, the, 486, 514. 

Shiloh Church, battle of, 401, 402. 

Shipbuilding, in the colonies, 131; 
during the War with Germany, 635. 

"Sick man of Europe," the, 588. 

Silver, discoveries of, 476, 483; de- 
monetization of, 485; coinage re- 
sumed, 486. 

Sioux, the, troubles with, 486, 488. 



Sitka, Russian post established at. 
247. 

Slater, John F., 472. 

Slater, Samuel, 296. 

Slavery, in the Spanish colonies, 27; 
introduced into Virginia, 43; for- 
bidden in the Northwest Territory, 
207; abolished in Massachusetts, 
214; growing importance of, 273; 
northern hypocrisy, 280; effect of 
cotton-gin on, 295, 296; the non- 
importation acts, 295; agitation 
against, 314-316; not permitted in 
California, 341, 342; effect of Mex- 
ican VVar on, 342, 343; Congress 
refuses to receive petitions to abol- 
ish, 316; interference with, 343- 
347; slave territory extended by 
Kansas-Nebraska Act, 368, 369; the 
Dred Scott decision, 373; effort to 
protect by constitutional amend- 
ment, 387; anti-slavery sentiment in 
the South, 392; relation to the War 
of Secession, 412, 413; abolished in 
the District of Columbia, 413; abol- 
ished in Tennessee, Missouri, West 
Virginia and Maryland, 414; abol- 
ished in_ Kentucky and Delaware, 
452; a hindrance to manufacturing, 
468. 

Slave trade, causes friction between 
Spain and England, 31, i2y in the col- 
onies, 141, 142; an issue in the con- 
stitutional convention, 214, 215; 
forbidden in the District of Colum- 
bia, 344. 

Slidell, John, 333, 399. 

Smith, Capt. John, 39. 

Smith, Gen. Kirby, 437. 

Smith, Joseph, 375, 376. 

Smith-Lever Act, the, 571. 

Smuggling, in colonial times, 139, 140; 
following the Embargo Act, 253, 
254. 

Socialist Party, the, 600. 

"Sons of Liberty," the, 154, 155. 

Sophia of Hanover, 96. 

South Carolina, early attempts to col- 
onize, 58; settlement of^, 71, 72; 
slavery in, 141, 142; the assemoly 
forcibly adjourned, 157; attitude to- 
ward the slave trade, 295; threatens 
to secede, 310; rescinds its nullifica- 
tion resolutions, 311; establishes a 
university, 360; secession of, 382, 
383; troops fire on Star of the 
West, 387, 388; political rights re- 
stored to, 455; Federal troops re- 
moved from, 465. 

South Dakota, 492. 

"South Sea," the, 19. 

"Southwest Passage," the, 18, 19. 

.Soviet, the, 637. 

Spain, attitude in the Revolutionary 
War, 191; cedes Louisiana to 
France, 241 ; revolt of her American 
colonies, 278, 576; friction with the 
LTnited States, 527; declares war 
upon the LTnited States, 529; sues 
for pesce, 534. 



xl 



INDEX 



Spanish-American War, the, 529-534. 

Spanish colonization, character of, 
26, 28. 

"Specie circular," Jackson's, 312, 313. 

Specie payments discontinued, during 
the War of 1812, 270; during Van 
Buren's administration, 317; during 
the War of Secession, 442. 

Speculation in lands, 277, 311, 312. 

"Spoils system," the, 305, 495. 

Spottsylvania Court House, 427. 

"Squatter sovereignty," 368, 369. 

Stamp Act, the, 151-155. 

"Stamp Act Congress," the, 153. 

Standard Oil Company, 548. 

Stanwix, Fort, 188. 

Star of the West, The, 387, 388. 

Star-Strangled Banner, The, 264, 265. 

State banks, 277, 278. 

State sovereignty, 384. 

State universities, the first, 360, 361. 

"Stay laws," 210, 317. 

Steamboat, 290, 291. 

Steam engine, 290, 296. 

Steamships, 356, 357. 

Stephens, Alexander H., 385. 

Stephenson, George, 307. 

Steuben, Baron Frederick W., 187. 

Stevens, John, 307. 

Stevens, Thaddeus, 450. 

Stone River, battle of, 404. 

Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 346, 347. 

Strikes, forbidden by law, 358; of 
railway workers, 517-519; at Home- 
stead, 519, 520; of the Pullman Car 
Company's employees, 520; the an- 
thracite coal miners, 549, 550; after 
the War with Germany, 655, 656, 
658, 659. 

Stuyvesant, Peter, 65, 73, 74. 

Suffrage, colonial requirements for, 
126; spread of manhood suffrage, 
297. 298. See also Woman Suf' 
frage. 

Sugar Act, the, 140. 

Sullivan's Island, 172. 

Sumner, Charles, 450. 

Sumter, Fort, 388-390. 

Sumter, Thomas, 195. 

Superior, Lake, 61. 

Supreme Court, the, 223. 

Surplus, the, Congress votes to return 
to states, 312; during Cleveland's 
administration, 500. 

Taft, William H., 554, 555, 599, 600, 
604. .... 

Tariff, the first law, 225, 226; for pro- 
tection in 1816, 270; the "tariff of 
abominations," 309; rates lowered 
in 1832, 310; the act of 1833, 311; 
the McKinley law, 506, 507; the 
Wilson Bill, 514; the Dingley Act, 
524; the Payne-AIdrich Law, 554, 
555; the Underwood Bill. 602. 

Tiriff question, the, 505, 506. 

Tarleton, Col. Bannastre, 194. 

Taxation, in England, 43; controlled 
by the burpesses in Virginia, 44; 
attempt to impose on the colonies, 
150, 156, 157, 159. 



Taylor, Gen. Zachary, ordered to the 
Neuces River, 332; advances to the 
Rio Grande River, 333; the battle 
of Monterey, 333, 334; elected 
president, 338. 339; death of, 344. 
Tecumseh, 258. 
Telegraph, the, 352, 353. 
Telephone, the, 565. 
"Teller resolution," the, 534. 
Tennessee, admitted into the Union, 
228; secession of, 391; abolishes 
slavery, 414; political rights re- 
stored to, 455. 
Tennessee Centennial Exposition, 469. 

470. 
Tenure of Office Act, the, 456. 

Territory south of the Ohio, the, 208, 
228. 

Texas, early missions in, 84; claimed 
by United States, 275; immigratioa 
from the United States, 323; revo- 
lution breaks out in, 323; proclaimed 
a republic, 325; agitation over the 
annexation of, 325, 327; boundary 
disputed by Mexico, 332; the Texas- 
iSiew Mexico boundary dispute, 343, 
344; secession of, 384; political 
rights restored to, 458; Federal 
troops removed from, 465. 

Thames River, battle of, 263. 

Thirty Years' War, the, 578. 

Thomas, Gen. George H., at the battle 
of Chickamauga, 424; in middle 
lennessee, 431, 432; nominated sec- 
retary of war, 456. 

Ticonderoga, Fort, taken from the 
I'rench, 106; captured by Conti- 
nental soldiers, 171; retaken by 
Burgoyne, 188. 

Tilden, Samuel J., 463. 

Tippecanoe, battle of, 258. 

Tobacco, the raising of, 41, 56, 142; 
"receipts" serve as money, 142, 143. 
Toleration Act," the, 56. 

Tonti, de, Henry, 86. 

Toombs, Robert W., 371, 391. 

Tories, the, in England, 96, 149; in 
the colonies, 167, 168. 

Toscanelli. 14. 

Total abstinence societies, 363, 364. 

Toussaint L'Ouverture, General, 242. 

Town meeting, 126. 

Townshend Acts, the, 155, 156. 

Trade Laws, the, 151, 155. 

Trade routes to the East, 6, 9. 

Tanscontinental railways, need of, 
481; completion of the first, 481, 
482; later ones, 482. 

Trans-Mississippi Exposition, 490, 491. 

Transportation, in the colonies, 124, 
125; early cost of, 242, 243; rates to 
the trans-Allegheny country, 288; 
effect of the Erie Canal. 292, 293; 
influence of railways, 308, 309; ef- 
fect of immigration, 349. 350; build- 
ing of the trans-continental rail- 
ways. 481. 482. 

Transylvania, 146. 

Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 99, 100. 

Treaty of Bucharest, 596, 597. 



INDEX 



xli 



Treaty of Ghent, 268. 

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 336. 

Treaty of London, 595. 

Treaty of Paris, in 1763, 108, 109; in 
1783, 202; in 1898, 534. 

Treaty of Ryswick, 94. 

Treaty of Utrecht, 95. 

Treaty of Versailles, terms of, 649, 
650; reservations attacked by United 
States Senate, 654; an issue in the. 
election of 1920, 661. 662. 

Trent Affair, the, 399. 

Trenton, battle of, 185, 186. 

"Triple alliance," the, origin and pur- 
pose of, 589, 590; deserted by Italy, 
622. 

"Triple entente," the, origin and pur- 
pose of, 592; effect of the Second 
Balkan War on, 597. 

Tripoli, war with, 250. 

Trotsky, 638. 

"Trusts," the, 547-549. 

Tryon, Governor William, 158. 

Turkey, integrity of Turkey guaran- 
teed, 588; loss of the Balkan prov- 
inces, 588, 589; friendship for Ger- 
many, 594, 595; defeated in the 
First Balkan War, 595; enters the 
World War, 620; the surrender of, 
644. 

Turks, the, by oppressing Christians 
cause the crusades, 5; overrun 
southeastern Europe, 8; atrocious 
treatment of Christian subjects, 587, 
588. 

Turner, Nat, insurrection led by, 315. 

Turnpikes, 288. 

Tuskegee Xormal and Industrial In- 
stitute, 472. 

Tutuila, 'cession of, 509, 538. 

"Tweed Ring," the, 463. 

Tyler, John, 321. 

Uncle Tom's Cabin, 346, 347. 

Underground railway, the, 345, 346. 

Union of England and Scotland, 95, 
96. 

"United Colonies of Nevyr England,'' 
the, 103. 

United Mine Workers of America, 
strike of, 658, 659. 

United States Bank, the, first estab- 
lished, 226; renewal of charter, 
270; blamed for the panic of 1819, 
277, 278; an issue in the election of 
1832, 305, 306; withdrawal of Fed- 
eral funds from, 306. 

United States Shipping Board, the, 
634, 635. 

Utah, settled by the Mormons, 375, 
376; polygamy delays its admission 
to the Union, 492; restores suffrage 
to women, 567. 

Valley Forge, 189. 

Van Buren, Martin, elected president 
317; administration of, 317, 358 
defeated for re-election, 320, 321 
nominated for the presidency by 
Free Soil parly, ii9. 



Venezuelan boundary difficulty, the, 
520, 521. 

Venice, 6, 626. 

Vera Cruz, captured by General Scott, 
334; occupied in 1914, 604. 

Verde, Cape, discovery of, 11. 

Verdun, battle of, 623, 624. 

Vermont, secedes from New York, 
174; admitted to the Union, 228. 

Verrazano, da, Giovanni, 21. 

Vespucci, Amerigo, 21. 

Vicksburg, fall of, 419-421. 

Victor Emmanuel II, 583. 

Victoria, Queen, 399, 564. 

Villa, General, 605. 

Vincennes, capture of, 201; made 
capital of Indiana Territory, 246. 

Virginia, origin of name, 35; early 
history of, 41-44; a royal province, 
44, 45; growth of population during 
the Commonwealth, 69; education 
in, 120; distribution of settlements 
in 1770, 129; sympathy for Boston, 
161; authorized a declaration of in- 
dependence, 175; cession of western 
lands, 205; attitude in the constitu- 
tional convention, 213; enacts reso- 
lutions threatening secession, 234; 
establishes a university, 360, 361 ; 
efforts to prevent a civil war, 387; 
secession of, 391; deserted by the 
western counties, 392; political 
rights restored to, 455, 458. 

Virginia Company, the, 41, 44. 

Virginia military lands, 208, 209. 

Virginia, The, 409. 

Virgin Islands, 606, 607. 

Wages, in 1840, 358. 

Wake Island, 538. 

"War Hawks," the, 259. 

War of 1812, declaration of, 259; un- 
preparedness for, 259, 260; military 
operations in, 260-266; opposition 
in New England to, 266-268; eco- 
nomic consequences, 268, 269. 

War of Secession, cause of, 388, 389; 
attack on Fort Sumter, 389-391; 
relative strength of the belligerents, 
393, 394; plan of the North for win- 
ning, 395, 396; blockade of southern 
ports, 398, 399. 408-410, 432; the 
Trent Affair, 399; operations during 
1862, 400-410; conscription resorted 
to, 422, 423; position of the slaves, 
412-414; operations in 1863, 414- 
425; attitude of France, 418, 419; 
operations in 1864, 425-436; collapse 
of the Confederacy, 435-437; result 
of, 438; cost, 440, 441; social life 
during, 444-447. 

War of the Spanish Succession, 95. 

Warsaw, capture of, 620. 

War with Germany. See World War. 

War with Mexico, 333-336. 

Washington, admitted to the Union, 
492 J grants suffrage to women, 567. 

Washington (City), burning of, 263, 
264. 

"Washington district," 148. 



INDEX 



Washington, George, messenger for 
Governor Dinwiddie, 103; attacked 
by French at Great Meadows, 103; 
in the French and Indian War, 
105; commissioned general of the 
Continental Army, 167; during the 
Revolutionary War, 183-197; con- 
spiring against, 190; elected presi- 
dent. 218; administration of, 222- 
231; neutrality policy of, 230; atti- 
tude toward the public service, 234; 
declines a third term, 254; opposed 
to slavery, 273. 

Waterloo, battle of, 576. 

Watauga settlements, 147, 193, 208. 

Watt, James, 290. 

Weaver, Gen. James B., 511. 

Webster, Daniel, enters Congress, 
259; disgust over Jackson's inau- 
guration, 304, 305; reply to Hayne, 
310, 311; appointed secretary of 
state, 322; position on the Omnibvis 
Bill, 344, 345. 

Wells-Fargo Express, 356. 

Wesley, John and Charles, 118. 

Westerners, the, in trouble with the 
Spanish officials at New Orleans, 
244; character of, 286. 

"Western Reserve," the, 209. 

West Virginia, creation of, 414. 

Westsylvania, 146. 

Westward migration, cause of, 273. 

Weyler, General, 526. 

Wheeler, Gen. Joseph, 430, 434, 532. 

Whig party, the, 284, 382. 

Whigs, the. in England, 96, 149. 

Whitman, Dr. Marcus, 332. 

Whitney, Eli, 294. 

"Whisky boys," the, 227. 

"Whisky ring," the, 463. 

"Wildcat" banks, 312. 

Wilderness campaign, the, 426-428. 

Willard, Emma, 360. 

William I, becomes king of Prussia 
584; crowned emperor of Germany 
587. 

William II, character of, 590, 591 
ambition for Germany, 591; his 
Pan-Germanic scheme, 591, 592; 
willingness for war, 608; orders the 
invasion of Belgium, 609; abdica- 
tion of, 648. /• 

William and Mary, 11, 93. 

William and Mary College, founding 
of, 121. 

William of Orange, 91. ■) ^ 

Williams, Rev. Roger, 53, 54. ; 

Wilmington, 195. \^ 

"Wilmot Proviso," the, 336, 372. 

Wilson, William L., 514. 

Wilson, Woodrow, elected president, 
599, 600; character of, 600-602; 
first administration of, 602-607; 
trouble with Mexico, 604, 605; neu- 
trality policy of, 609, 610; warning 
to Germany, 611; re-elected presi- 
dent, 613-615; severs diplomatic re- 
lations with Germany, 630; com- 



mandeers the railroads, 634; his 
message to Russia, 647; the "four- 
teen points," 647, 648; attends the 
peace congress, 648; insistence on 
the League of Nations covenant, 

649. 650; embitters the Senate, 654; 
ends the coal miners' strike, 659; 
friction with Mexico over the Jen- 
kins incident, 659, 660. 

Wilson's Creek, battle of, 400. 

Winthrop, John, 51, 52. 

Wireless telegraphy, 565. 

Wisconsin, admitted to the Union, 
342; introduces the "direct pri- 
mary," 553. 

Wolfe, Gen. James, 107, 108. 

Woman suffrage, in New Jersey, 174; 
early agitation of, 364, 365; advo- 
cates holding a national convention, 
365; granted by Wyoming, 492; 
progress of the movement, 566, 
567; ratification of the Susan B. 
Anthony amendment to the Consti- 
tution, 568. 

Women's rights, demand for, 299. 

Woolen manufacturing, 297. 

Wood, Col. Leonard, 533. 

World's Columbian Exposition, the, 
490. 

World War. the, beginning of, 608, 
609; neutrality of the United States, 
609, 610; economic results attend- 
ing, 609-611; Germany's submarine 
policy, 611-613; sinking of the 
Litsitania, 612; battle of the Marne, 
616; early lighting on the eastern 
front, 616-618; operations in 1915, 
618-623; battle of Verdun, 623, 624; 
struggle in the Near East, 624-625; 
the Russian revolution, 625-626; the 
Italian campaign, 626; entry of the 
United States, 630, 631; losses to 
shipping, 634, 635; the conservation 
movement, 635, 636; organizing the 
American Expeditionary I-'orces, 
636, 637; Von Hindenburg's great 
drive, 638; Ludendorff crosses the 
Marne, 640; battle of Chateau 
Tliierry, 641; Foch's counter-lilow, 

641, 642; fighting at St. Mihiel, 

642, 643; final operations in the 
East, 644; the armistice, 645, 646; 
the peace congress, 648; cost of, 

650, 651; revelations of,_ 651, 652; 
demobilization in the United States, 
654, 655. 

Wright, Frances (Fanny), 360, 364. 
Wyoming, 492. 

"X. Y. Z. Papers," the, 232. 

Yellow fever, in Santo Domingo, 242; 
in tile Southern States, 526. 

York, retreat of the Continental Con- 
gress to, 190. 

Yorktown, surrender of CornwalHs at, 
197. 

Young, Brigham, 375, 376. 

Ypres, struggle for, 618. 



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